Prim and Punishment
by brigrove
Summary: Set after the Victory Tour in Catching Fire.  Sweet little Prim tries to assassinate President Snow?  A far angrier Katniss tells it like it is and that's just the start
1. Chapter 1

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter One**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

_**This story takes place during the same time as Catching Fire and ignores both almost all of that book and Mockingjay. It is not part of my series with Tatiana.**_

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

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Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment District Twelve, the final stop of the Victory Tour. After this, I could go home, in peace, at least until the wedding.

So I was finally beginning to relax when the last person I wanted to see arrived at the party. I was even more worried when he walked straight over to Prim. Pretending he didn't know who she was, he said, "Girl. I'm going into the office with Katniss as we have a few things to discuss. Bring us some coffee, would you?"

"Yes, Sir, President Snow, Sir," said Prim, totally shocked that the President of all Panem had just spoken to her.

As Prim left, I walked over to him. "President Snow. It's good to see you," I said.

"Now, now, Katniss. I thought we had an agreement. We don't lie to one another. It makes things so much simpler. Come with me to the office."

He obviously knew the way, even though I didn't as he led me there. "Sit down," he ordered. "How's Primrose?" he asked. "And your mother, and your... cousin."

"I'm doing everything you've asked," I replied. "You don't have to threaten them."

"Your Victory Tour was a failure. Your rebellion has cost me a small fortune. Do you have any idea how many people in the districts we had to kill to restore peace? Or how much it cost to put down the rebellions?"

I shook my head.

"Obviously you can't play the love-sick girl well enough, so it's time to destroy that image."

"You mean, I don't have to marry Peeta?" I asked, hardly able to believe it.

"Oh, no, you'll marry him, just as I ordered. You'll have children and when they are old enough, they will be reaped. You will, of course, tell nobody of this, especially your loving fiance. If you want him to live, that is."

I should have been shocked, but to be honest he was just stating what I had expected all along.

"You'll marry him, but I'm afraid he'll have to wait to enjoy his bride. I'm told you are still a virgin?"

I nodded. Where was this going?

"You will spend your wedding night with whoever bids the highest for you. It will be the same for every night after that, until your reputation is as bad as that of Finnick Odair. You will not sleep with or spend a night with your husband until you are pregnant."

Finnick Odair was a victor, notorious for his string of lovers.

"Like Finnick, you will tell nobody of our 'arrangement'. When it becomes known what a slut you are, that should end any following you may have."

"I'll have to tell Peeta," I said.

"Not even Peeta, if you want him to live."

There was a knock on the door. Prim popped her head around the door. "Your coffee, Mr. President?"

"Thank you. Put it on the table," President Snow replied.

Prim put a tray on the table, then seemed to hesitate. As she walked back towards the door, she suddenly took a knife from her sleeve and threw herself at the President, stabbing him exactly in the heart.

"You won't make my sister do that," she cried.

President Snow laughed as the blade of the knife snapped off. He grabbed Prim's wrist and forced it back until I heard a snap. She gasped with the pain.

"Foolish girl. Do you really think I would come to a district without body armor against such attacks? Now, what are we to do with you?"

"Please don't kill her," I begged. "I'll do anything."

"Kill her?" he replied. "Of course not. I can't have people thinking that it is possible to almost assassinate me. Guard!" he bellowed.

A peacekeeper came in.

"This girl tried to kill me. Take her and show her what we think of such ideas."

I stepped towards Prim to defend her.

"Interfere and she dies," President Snow said quietly.

Prim tried to put on a brave face as she was escorted out. As she left, the President called out, "She's yours for three days."

He left after that and I had to explain to our mother that Prim, Prim of all people, had tried to kill the President. Prim, who wouldn't hurt a fly, who wouldn't hunt even if she were starving, had tried to stab the President to death.

"Why?" Mom had asked.

"She heard something, but I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Tell me."

"Mom. If I tell anyone, he'll kill someone I love. Please don't ask."

Prim was returned three days later. She'd been quite badly beaten, but less than we had feared. But a light had gone from her eyes.

"Can you find out what they did to her?" Mom asked me. "She won't talk about it."

"Won't or can't?"

"I don't know."

In the days that followed several boys had tried to get her to go for a "walk" with them. When she'd refused, they'd angrily said that now she was a victor's sister, only peacekeepers were good enough for her. I could see it hurt, but she still said nothing.

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I am Katniss Everdene and I hate dress designers. Okay, normally I really like Cinna, without him I wouldn't even be alive, but right now I want to take all the dress designers in Panem and put them in an arena, and none would come out alive.

The arena. It is hard to believe that it is almost a year since Peeta and I won the 74th Hunger Games. In an act the President saw as outright rebellion I had tricked the head Gamemaker into allowing both of us to live. That example had led to a number of minor uprisings in some of the Districts, quickly crushed of course. President Snow had made it clear that for that act of rebellion, I would be punished.

This was my punishment. For the faked romance, I was to be forced to marry Peeta, a boy who loved me, but whom I did not love. Then I would humiliate him by taking a string of lovers until I was pregnant. We would raise that child only to see it die in the Arena.

I didn't doubt that Peeta loved me. I'm not sure I'm even capable of that kind of love. I had apologized over and over again to Peeta because he had to share my punishment, but he had laughed.

"Your rebellion saved my life. Now Snow's idea of punishment is that I have to spend that lifetime with you, which I've dreamed about for years. Just what are you apologizing for?"

"You deserve someone who loves you," I had responded. "I can't even fake it well enough to fool those who matter."

He just gave me that annoying smile of his.

I was brought back to the present as a pin jabbed me in the... never mind where. "Are we done yet?" I whined.

"Almost," said Cinna.

"Please tell me I'm not going to be the girl on fire this time. I don't fancy a burning wedding dress."

Truth be told, I didn't fancy ANY wedding dress, but what choice did I have? If I didn't play my part, all those close to me would die.

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Punished - Punished - Punished - Punished - Punished - Punished - Punished - Punished – Punished

My wedding was every girl's dream, and my nightmare. The only bright spot for me was seeing Prim in her bridesmaid dress. As much as I had hated being fitted for my wedding dress, she had loved being fitted for her bridesmaid's dress. The old carefree Prim returned to us, the Prim from before she was taken away, even before she was reaped. It seemed as though she had forgotten what she had heard about my wedding night as she was so excited.

I'd been allowed to choose my own bridesmaids, although it was never in doubt that Prim would be one of them. I had suggested to Cinna that I also choose Rue's sisters, his response had stunned me.

"Of course. I'll be sure to design their dresses with a target on the back."

Then I had wanted to have no bridesmaids, but Cinna would have none of it. "That would be seen as rebellion. You're expected to have Prim as your bridesmaid. Besides, she already has a target on her back just for being your sister."

I knew he was right. Some days I really wished I had eaten those berries.

Not only our wedding, but the party after it, which was held in the biggest and most luxurious hotel Panem had to offer, was being shown on live television. It was weird knowing that people were being forced to watch us have a party.

It was six weeks before the reaping for the 75th games, which would be a quarter quell. There was always some twist in a quarter quell. The first time the Districts had to vote for which children they would send to their deaths, the second time twice as many tributes were sent from each District. That was the time Haymitch won.

Now, to finish off our wedding celebration, President Snow had a young boy bring out the box, from which he picked an envelope, yellowing with age. It was clearly marked on the front with the number 75.

Opening the envelope, he read, "To remind the Districts that no matter what help they receive, they can never defeat the Capitol, each tribute will choose one brother or sister to accompany them in the Arena. If they have no brother or sister within the permitted age range, their best friend from school will accompany them. While the siblings or friends will play in the games in exactly the same way as the tributes, and may be killed in the same way as the tributes, as they are only there to help their tribute, if their tribute is killed, and the sibling or friend is still alive, the sibling or friend will be removed from the arena and returned to their District."

As a way to kill a party atmosphere, I'd say that rated right at the top. But my mind was on other matters.

A short time later, the red-haired Avox girl delivered me a note. "Is it from Snow?" I asked.

She nodded, sadly.

I opened the envelope and it. It was short and to the point. "Midnight. Room 667"

After returning from room 667, I went down to the bar, ordered a bottle of the wine Haymitch seemed to love and drank until I fell asleep.

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I was still asleep when Peeta found me in the morning. "Is the thought of being with me so bad that you had to hide all night?"

I threw up at his feet.

"Come on," he said, lifting me up like a rag doll. "I guess all that practice lifting sacks of flour was useful for something. Let's get you upstairs to bed."

He took me into the shower and partly undressed me. Pointing to a mark on my neck he said bitterly, "I see it wasn't your wedding night you were dreading, it was just being with me."

Nevertheless, he carried me to the bed and put me gently into it. Then he left the room.

The six weeks were a routine. Every night "my" Avox would hand me a note. She'd often squeeze my hand to give me the comfort I'd never given to her. I'd leave, meet my "lover"for that night, then return to the bar to drink myself into oblivion.

Peeta would find me in the morning and put me in bed where I'd sleep for most of the day. Then I'd get up, force myself to eat something and wait the next note.

At first Peeta tried to talk to me, after a while, he gave up. Slowly we drifted further and further apart. For the first time in my life I was glad when the time for reaping came around as we had to leave the Capitol to return to District Twelve.

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For this reaping, Peeta and I had to sit up the front with Haymitch while Effie did her usual over-the-top speech. She looked relieved that Haymitch didn't seem so drunk this year and didn't try to hug her.

"Girls first," she said, sounding for all the world like she was selecting the winner of some wonderful prize instead of selecting a girl to send to her death.

"And the name is," her voice faltered and she glanced at me with a genuine distress on her face which I hadn't thought her capable of. "Primrose Everdene," she finished, her celebratory tone gone.

There was absolute silence from the crowd for a few moments, then a low murmur of discontent, quickly silence by a shot from a Peacekeeper.

Prim was walking towards us, forcing herself to walk calmly and with her head held high. I was never so proud of her.

It had been for nothing. I had volunteered to save her life and now she would die anyway. I was sure this was President Snow's revenge on her. Then I remembered that a brother or sister would accompany her. That meant that I was going back into the arena.

Even though I saw the repeats of the reaping, I still remember nothing that happened after that except Prim sitting beside me and me hugging her for all I was worth.

Mum came to see us and it was awful. It was obvious to both of us that she wouldn't hold herself together. To my surprise, Peeta's father came again. "I'll try to get someone to help her," he promised. As he left, he said quietly, "I don't believe all the things they are saying about you."

Prim was delighted by her room in the train, much more than I had been. I watched her curiously as she tried every button in the shower.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"Oh, Prim," I said.

"Katniss, sit down," she said. "I'm sorry if me behaving like an overexcited five year-old upsets you, but we both know the only way I'll be coming back is in a wooden box."

"Don't say that!" I snapped.

"Why not? It's the truth and you know it."

"I'll protect you," I insisted.

"From the other tributes? All of them?"

"Yes, if need be."

"From Snow?" she asked.

I didn't answer.

"This is my real punishment for attacking him," she said. "He's not going to let me come back alive, Katniss, so let me enjoy all the silly pretty things the Capitol has while I can."

I nodded.

"Were you frightened on the train last year?" she asked me.

"Terrified," I admitted.

"So am I," she said.

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It wasn't long before we had to go for our meal. Effie was chatting away to us about nothing until we were joined by the other tribute, a fifteen year-old boy from the seam who was accompanied by his twin sister. The moment they saw the table laden with food, they looked astonished. They both looked at me, unsure if they were really allowed to eat it.

"Help yourself," I said.

They almost dived into the food, grabbing handfuls of just about anything and shoving it into their mouths.

"No!" cried Effie, clearly distressed. "Barbarians! And I thought I was going to have tributes who at least knew how to eat properly again this year."

A rage grew within me. "Effie. Shut your stupid ignorant mouth or I will shut it for you. You remember the pair you complained about before, the year before me? Like these two, they were from the Seam. Like these two, they've never had enough to eat one single day in their lives. See how skinny these two are? You think that's some kind of sick Capitol-style fashion statement? It's because they've spent their whole lives starving. In the class I started with in school, five have died so far from starvation. When they do get food, believe me the last thing on their minds is table manners. Hunger like you've never experienced has left these two so weak that they won't stand a chance in the arena. And they know it."

Efie looked too shocked to speak at my onslaught. But I hadn't finished.

"You call them barbarians! They aren't the ones forcing kids to starve to death in the poorer Districts. They aren't the ones escorting innocent children to be murdered every year. You want to know why nobody cheers for you when you come to the District, expecting us to be oh-so-excited about the games? It's because they aren't games to us. Every year you come to us and take two children who deserve to live and take them away to be murdered while the Capitol takes bets on how long they'll live. You want barbarians? I suggest you look closer to home."

Haymitch and Peeta had walked in during my rant. Surprise, surprise, Hamish was already well on the way to being drunk. While Peeta just looked stunned, Haymitch began to clap, until he needed his hands to stop himself falling over.

I grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and began to drink straight from the bottle.

"Your answer to everything lately," Peeta said, angrily. "What a pity you're going back in the arena and not being a mentor. They could have had a matching set of drunks."

"You!" Haymitch roared at him. "You know, I used to think she didn't deserve you, 'cause she can be a heartless bitch at times. But it's you... don't deserve her." His mind seemed to wander for a moment. "Think you know everything. So stupid."

"What do you mean?" Peeta asked. "What don't I know?"

But Haymitch had fallen from his chair and was already snoring.

"What don't I know?" Peeta asked me. "What did he mean?"

"I can't say, who knows what Haymitch means, 'specially when he's drunk?"

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Author's notes...

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**


	2. Chapter 2

"**Prim and Punishment"**

**Chapter Two**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

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I'd really hoped that as I had to go into the arena with Prim, I'd be left alone this time in the Capitol. No such luck. I'd hardly been shown to our room when I saw "my" Avox walking towards me.

When it was over I staggered into the Victors' bar on the ground floor of the Training Center. This one had liked it rough. I knew I'd be bruised all over. I ordered a bottle of wine as usual and flopped down in an armchair. My arm was too stiff to even lift the bottle much, but even without my usual quantity of wine, I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

I was awoken by Peeta shouting "Katniss! Couldn't wait a single night, could you? Well, fun time's over. I'm taking you to bed."

My head was throbbing and my back and neck felt to sore and stiff to move.

"How could a girl resist such an invitation?"

"Johanna?"

That was Johanna Mason, one of the victors from Seven. "Haymitch always said you were the intelligent one, the one that understood the game and didn't need to be told. So when Haymitch said you were being a complete idiot, I thought he was exaggerating."

"What are you doing down here at this time?"

"Nice to see you too, Mellark. I'm here for the same reason you are, to meet someone."

"Who?"

"Finnick."

"Another one playing the whore," Peeta said with disgust. "I'd never have put you two together."

"We're not... together... as you put it. Usually Haymitch meets him, but he's out of it, totally smashed, thanks to his little argument with you on the train. Just as well you're not a tribute this time, he'd probably send you poison."

"Why am I the one in the wrong? I never even get to sleep with my own wife, she's busy having fun with everyone else."

"Look at her, Mellark. Come on, look at her!"

I desperately tried to look as though I were still asleep.

"She look like she's having fun to you? I hear she drinks herself into a stupor every time after one of her little 'affairs'. That sound like someone having fun?"

There was a pause as Peeta didn't answer her.

"Yeah, don't say anything, because so far, almost every word you've said has been wrong. Except one. Whore."

"You mean? But we don't need the money, why would...? Snow."

"Finally clicked has it?"

"Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"You mean apart from the fact she's doing it partly to keep you alive? Snow likes to mess with our heads. He's probably told her he'll kill you if she tells you. Of course he knows there are no secrets between Victors. The thing we're best at is gossip."

"Then Finnick?"

"Yeah. Him too."

"Then why not you? And was Haymitch? When he was decent I mean."

"Haymitch refused. So did I."

"But you're still all right."

Johanna snorted. "Peeta. You never see Haymitch with anyone, do you? They killed his family and everyone he cared about. Just like me. He can't hurt Haymitch any more because he's never sober long enough to notice. They can't get to me any more as everyone I ever cared about is dead."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't like your wife. But Haymitch was right, you don't deserve her. That trick with the berries because she wouldn't let you die made her an inspiration to rebels everywhere. And because of that, Snow is determined to break her. And it's easy. She cares about too many people. Her family, that cousin of hers and his family, you, though I can't imagine why right now. That's why her sister was reaped, nothing to do with her attacking Snow, although he'd have had her reaped for that anyway, it's to break Katniss Everdene, after destroying her reputation so she won't live on as a martyr."

"How can I help her?"

"You can't. The moment she brought out those berries, especially after that little show of rebellion with the flowers, her life was over. From the rumours in the districts, the rebels wanted to use her as a symbol, while Snow wants to destroy her, well, discredit her, then destroy her. He's pretty much finished discrediting her now. She's become a sick joke. So now it's time to destroy her. You can bet something will happen so that she gets killed in the arena. Ah. Here's Finnick."

As I'd heard everything I was going to hear, I decided to get up, and promptly fell on the floor.

Finnick was beside me in an instant, helping Peeta help me up. "Are you okay?" Finnick asked, his eyes narrowing when he saw the bruising on my arm.

"It's nothing," I said.

Finnick shook his head.

"Some symbol of the rebellion I'd make, not only a whore, but a bruised whore who can't even defend herself," I said, bitterly.

"It's not your fault," Peeta said.

"You know? After all the problems they've caused, I'd really like to meet the leader of the rebels. I'd have quite a few things to say to him." I stared at Johanna, then at Finnick as I said this. I knew if anyone was listening, it would sound like me moaning angrily, but I wanted to convey to Johanna and Finnick that I was serious.

"Come to bed, darling," said Peeta.

From out of nowhere, Prim appeared. How much had she heard? Everything? "She has to sleep in my room. She's my companion for the arena, remember?"

"I wish I could forget," Peeta said, sadly.

Once in the room, Prim took charge at once. "Tell Haymitch I'll need... hang on, I'll write it down." She wrote down a list of things she'd need to speed up my healing.

As soon as he'd gone, she helped me out of my clothes, stripped off her own clothes and took me into the shower where she washed me down gently.

Taking a soft fluffy towel, she began to dry me.

"I can do this myself, you know," I protested.

"You deserve a little pampering," she answered.

"You're the only one who thinks so."

"Lie down on your front," she ordered.

As she carefully dried my back, I asked her, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," she answered. "I know what they're making you do and I know you're trying to protect all of us, which you can't do, and I know Snow wants you dead."

There didn't seem to be much to say to that, so I said nothing.

As she moved down to my legs, Peeta walked back in.

"Oh, sorry!" he cried, seeing both of us naked and turned to go.

"Don't be silly," Prim said. "Come in. Have you got everything?"

"Yeah. Finnick had everything on the list in a bag. He just gave it to me."

"Oh. Okay."

She took out a tube of cream. "Yes. This will do. Give me your hands, Peeta." She squirted a small amount from the tube into each hand. "Now, every place that looks bruised or seems tender, rub this in gently until the cream's absorbed."

As Peeta reached for me, I said, "You shouldn't touch me, Peeta. I'm dirty."

"Never say that," he told me. "This isn't your fault."

At least my embarrassment was reduced by the fact I was on my front, although Peeta's gentle hands smoothing Prim's miracle cream into all my hurting areas, well, most of them, almost made me forget that this was the first time I'd been completely naked in front of him.

Nakedness had never been a problem for Prim and she didn't even bother to cover up. "Done?" she asked Peeta.

"Er. Yes," he replied.

"Okay, turn over," she told me.

"Prim!" I protested.

"Stop being silly," she told me, in exactly the tone of voice I'd heard my mother use with patients sometimes. "It's only skin. Do you see me worrying?"

"No, but you're weird," I retorted.

"And he is your husband," she pointed out. "Are you really telling me you didn't enjoy it when he was massaging the cream on your back and legs?"

I was too tired to argue, so I turned over. Despite my nerves, it was relaxing feeling his strong gentle hands on me, so relaxing that I fell asleep.

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Prim woke me not long after midday. "Couldn't you let me sleep longer?" I complained.

"I want some air," she said. "Real, fresh breezy air, not this recycled air conditioned stuff."

"Nothing stopping you going to the roof," I pointed out.

"I want some air with you."

Translation - She wanted to talk, where we wouldn't be overheard. I quickly got dressed and we went up the stairs to the roof.

"I like it up here," she said. "If you look between the buildings over there, you can even see the mountains."

She was stalling.

"Prim?" I asked.

"I heard everything last night. They're going to try to kill you, to make sure you never come back. Snow's scared of you."

I snorted.

"He is," she insisted. "Why do you think he's gone to so much trouble to try to break you? You set off a spark and he's scared you might do it again and the next time, it'll be a fire he can't put out."

"Fat chance," I said.

"He's right to be scared of you. If you weren't trying to protect me, and Mom, and Gale and Peeta and their families, I think you'd beat him."

"Me? How?"

"I don't know. But he obviously thinks so too. Katniss, I need you to hear me out, without interrupting."

"Okay," I said, now she had me really worried.

"You might not believe it, but people look at you and they see hope. Hope for a change, hope for an end to all this, not just the games, but the whippings, the starvation, everything."

"Prim," I explained, "he's going to make sure I never come out of the arena."

"I'm going to make sure you do, but you have to stop protecting me."

"Prim," I warned.

"No, Katniss. You said you'd hear me out."

I gestured helplessly with my hands.

"If he manages it, if he gets you killed, how long do you think I'll live before he gets rid of me? A day? If he doesn't find some awful use for me first. How long do you think it will be before he gets rid of Peeta and Gale? How long do you think Mom would survive?"

"What are you saying?"

"One way or another, I am going to die, Sis. You have to accept that. You can't save me. Either I die in the arena, or I die in whatever twisted way Snow dreams up for me afterwards."

"Prim," I protested, weakly.

"You have to stop trying to protect me. I know you want to, but this time you can't. This time, it's my turn to protect you."

"How?"

"I haven't worked it out exactly yet," she admitted. "But I'm the tribute this time, not you. If I die, you get taken out alive. If it happens soon enough, you'll be out of there before Snow and the gamemakers realize they've been set up. I thought about stepping off the pad early, but apparently we'll share the same pad."

I could see she really meant this. "I don't want you to die for me," I said.

"I'm dead already," she said. "The moment I tried to kill Snow, if not before. I'm only alive so he can use me to weaken you. I don't know what he has planned for me if I get out of the arena or even in the arena, and I don't want to."

"Prim," I said helplessly.

"Promise me this. When you get out, fight them. Make him pay for everything he's done. You can't do that while you are trying to protect Mom and Peeta and Gale, so forget about them if you have to. If you lose, they're dead anyway. But when you win, if Mom's still alive, look after her. Don't hate her any more."

For the first time there were tears in her eyes.

"The rebels are wrong," she said.

"What?"

"You're not the face of the rebellion. You are the rebellion," she said forcefully.

I didn't know what to make of that.

When she spoke again, it was quietly, so quiet I almost didn't hear her. "You have to win," she said.

For a moment I was back in the arena, Rue's head in my lap, "You have to win," she had said as she was dying. She had accepted her own death and was already thinking of the future. I knew Prim had done the same.

Rue was talking about the games, I knew Prim was talking about much more. Did she know she'd used the same words as Rue? Probably. Whether she did or not, my answer was the same. "I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now."

Prim seemed satisfied with that and snuggled into my arms, just as she used to after our father died, when she needed comforting.

"Here you are. I've been looking everywhere."

I sighed. "What do you want, Finnick?"

"You wanted to meet someone, remember?"

Prim reluctantly got up so that I could get up.

"Come with me," Finnick instructed. "Just Katniss, I'm afraid."

"That's okay," said Prim. As I began to follow Finnick, she called to me. "Remember, you promised."

This wasn't the nice fancy elevator I'd used before. It was dirty and cramped and hot.

"Sorry about this, it's the freight elevator, but we don't want to advertise where you are going," Finnick apologized.

The door opened and I stepped out, only to see in front of me a man I'd last seen falling into a bowl of punch. A gamemaker.

I turned around. "Finnick! You set me up!" But the elevator doors were already closing.

"We meet again, Katniss. Allow me to introduce myself."

"I know who you are," I snarled at him.

"My name is Plutarch Heavensbee, and this year I am the head gamemaker. I am also the leader of the rebellion."

I laughed. "A gamemaker? Leader of the rebellion?"

"Haymitch said you wouldn't believe me," he said.

"Will you believe me?" I hadn't even noticed the other man there. Cinna.

"Cinna?"

I felt betrayed. Even Cinna was in this to set me up? I stood there without speaking for a minute or two. Then the elevator door opened again. This time it was Haymitch.

"Hello, sweetheart."

"Haymitch?"

"Finnick told me you were being difficult, as usual."

"This... is real?"

"Real as in a gamemaker is leader of the rebellion?"

"Yeah. That."

"Yeah, it's real. Can I go now? Only I had a nice cool bottle of wine keeping me company until Finnick made me come down here."

"Before you go. Prim says you're all wrong. I'm not the face of the rebellion, I am the rebellion."

Plutarch blustered, "The arrogant..."

Haymitch just laughed, cutting off whatever Plutarch was going to say. "Now we know where all the brains went in your family."

Ignoring his implied insult to me, I asked, "If I fight, can you protect Mom, and Peeta and Gale and their families?"

"Yes," said Haymitch at once. "We can hide them. But I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"You didn't ask us to protect your sister."

"Prim is going to die in the arena," I said.

There, I'd said it for the first time. It sounded so cold, so final.

Plutarch didn't look pleased. "If we can't figure out a way for her to win, you're both going to die in the arena," he pointed out.

"Prim says she intends to die as quickly as possible, so they have to lift me out of there alive before anyone can kill me."

Haymitch looked impressed. "Hmm. She's spunkier than she looks."

"It could work," Plutarch admitted. "We'd have to make sure one of ours was in the hovercraft, or they'd probably kill you anyway."

"Then I'll have to force it down somehow, so I can escape. I don't want to give Snow a chance to get me under his control."

"That can be done. Our man in the hovercraft can help you do that. What then? Even if you are the rebellion, you can't defeat the Capitol alone."

"And I can't do it with you either. You had your rebellion. It failed."

"Hardly our fault if not enough people are willing to fight," Haymitch said angrily.

"It's the Capitol which needs convincing," I said.

"The Capitol? How do you propose to do that?"

"You know what it said on my first school report? 'Doesn't play well with others.' Give me a way to contact you if I need you for something, otherwise I work alone."

"Unacceptable," said Plutarch.

"Fine. Let me die in the arena and your rebellion dies with me. I'm not going to be a symbol for you. I'll fight, but I'll fight my way. And if the Districts can see that someone is fighting, maybe you might just get your rebellion."

"You can at least tell us what you are going to do."

"No," I said. "I can't." I couldn't because I still didn't know what I was going to do, but I wasn't going to tell them that.

"The first thing she'll need to do is get the tracker removed," Plutarch pointed out. "So we'll have to get her to a doctor who can do that. After that, if she insists, she's on her own." He didn't sound pleased. I didn't really care. He might be leader of the rebels, but he was still from the Capitol and he was still a gamemaker.

"Very well," said Cinna. "Now we have to think about what message we want to send with your costume."

"That's a thought," I said. "How come we still haven't had the chariots? Normally they're the first night after we get here."

"Storm at sea," Pultarch replied.

"Huh?"

"The tribute for four. He didn't make it to the reaping. He was helping his father fishing and they got trapped by a storm at sea and the boat was damaged. Their boat is expected in tomorrow. They still don't know he's been reaped."

"Poor kid. Survives a storm and comes home to be shipped off to the arena," said Cinna.

"I know what I want you do do with my costume," I said.

Cinna raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Dress Prim and I alike, I don't care how. But last time you used fire. I want to do that again."

"The same as before?" Cinna sounded disappointed.

"No. This time, it starts from a spark, somewhere on my costume. It jumps across to Prim's, where it catches, then back to mine. Can you make the whole costume seem like it's on fire?"

Cinna smiled. "Girl in flames. I like it. You don't mind if I add a touch or two of my own, do you?"

"Is this be something we should be scared of?"

Cinna just grinned.

"One other thing, I know what I want to do for my interview and what I want to wear."

"I think we can leave that for you and Cinna to discuss later," said Plutarch. "Is there anything you need from us?"

"Well, before the interview even, I need to know that Mom and Peeta and Gale's families are safe. When I'm out of the arena, I'll need a good bow and a supply of arrows, and there's one idea I have, I know how to send a flaming arrow. Is there any way to make it explode?"

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That night was made more bearable by the knowledge that soon I would be fighting back. Prim and Peeta met me when I arrived in the bar, but didn't allow me to drink, but took me to my room. Once again, Prim showered me off, in spite of my protests that I was quite capable of taking a shower on my own.

This time we both got dressed before meeting Peeta in the bedroom. No free show tonight, I thought. He looked disappointed. I'd never really thought of myself as sexy, I was usually too busy trying to keep us all alive, but obviously he liked something about me.

The following evening was the chariot parade. After the ordeal of our prep teams, we went to see Cinna for our outfits. "Now," he said thoughtfully. "You did tell me last year you weren't bothered by nudity, right? How about you, Prim?"

"Fine with me," the little traitor replied.

Cinna burst out laughing. "Katniss, the look on your face. You're so easy to tease. Here are your outfits."

In shape, they were quite similar to the previous year's outfit. A simple unitard, but instead of all in black, the legs were black, but the top half was a mesmerizing multi-layer design that did it's best to mimic flames as I moved or even if the air around me moved. It reminded me a little of my interview dress from the previous year.

"Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've added a few little dramatic touches of my own, so don't be scared if the unexpected happens."

"I don't suppose you'd care to tell us?" I asked.

He grinned.

"Didn't think so."

As our Chariot came out into the open, there was a murmur of disappointment. After the previous year, they'd expected something spectacular. Even Twelve's boy tribute and his sister, who I still hadn't got to know, were more interesting than us, in a suit and a dress which lit up with lights the color of flames.

That was about to change. Just before people began to look away, a spark started just over my heart, it burst into flame, then went out. For a moment I thought it had gone wrong, then my shoulder began to glow like embers of coal which had suddenly had air forced through them. A flame leaped across the gap separating me from Prim. It actually missed her, but nobody would have noticed as her whole side appeared to burst into flame, sending sparks everywhere. Some of those sparks came in my direction and for a moment I could barely see as I was engulfed in Cinna's fake flames. It was better than I could have imagined. But wasn't over yet. From between my feet, mini fireballs shot into the air in all directions, many soaring high over the crowd, who screamed as the fireballs began to fall towards them, although they actually burned out long before reaching the crowd. The whole of the back of the chariot appeared to be ablaze now, so the crowd couldn't actually see us, but it didn't stop the gasps and the cheers. Just before we left the square, as if they'd been turned off, the flames all went out, but behind us, on the back of the chariot, lights in red and orange and yellow picked out the words, "District 12. Girls in flames."

As Cinna met us, he told us what he had written, as we couldn't see it from where we were standing, then he said, "I wanted to write, 'Fire spreads', but I thought that might be pushing it."

"Cinna, that was amazing," I said.

Prim just looked stunned.

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Effie had been avoiding me since the train, but the next morning she banged on the door. We had a "Big Big Day" of training ahead of us.

Here we had to split up. Prim needed to train the best she could, so she went with our boy tribute and his sister, while my job was to be as intimidating as possible with whatever weapons I fancied playing with. As the only previous victor, it was quite amusing seeing the career tributes looking at me nervously, quite a difference from the previous year when they'd been the ones making everyone else nervous. An evil part of me enjoyed watching them squirm.

Of course there was always one obnoxious one who thought he was better than everyone else. "Hello, Firegirl. I am your doom."

I am your doom, Where did he get a line like that? I thought.

"Really?" I asked, sounding bored.

"I'm going to kill you, then I'm going to gut your little sister."

"I'd be careful if I were you," I replied calmly, even though hearing him talk about my sister like that made me want to strangle him on the spot.

"Why?"

"Didn't you hear? Fire burns and little boys shouldn't play with fire."

Okay, he wasn't so little. He was about twice my weight and quite a bit taller, but he seemed to shrink as I spoke. I turned away and left him.

At the end of training, Prim left twelve's boy tribute and came to join me.

"How was training?" I asked.

"Quite fun, actually. He'd probably be quite a laugh if we weren't going to die soon. His sister didn't like you though."

"I don't even know his sister!" I protested.

"She was annoyed you've ignored them, she thought that you thought you were above mixing with seam kids now. I told her that Snow wants you dead and anyone associated with you, so by ignoring them, you're protecting them."

It might have been true, but I hadn't thought of it. My only thought had been that I had too much on my plate to worry about anything, or anyone else.

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Since the display on the chariot, Cinna had disappeared and of course, Snow made sure that I paid the price for my rebellion.

Each night after training, I had a client, and all of them seemed to like violence. The only part of me which wasn't bruised was my face.

Prim and I had our private sessions with the gamemakers together, like every other pair of siblings.

Prim wasn't exactly impressive with any of the weapons, while I just lounged around, not even bothering to do anything, yet we both scored a twelve.

"How did we get a twelve?" Prim asked.

"That was decided before you even went in," said Haymitch. "It's a signal to the other tributes to kill you."

"But they'd try to do that anyway," Prim pointed out.

"True, but this says, the Capitol wants you dead and is basically an order to wipe you out as quickly as possible."

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Cinna's replacement was really annoyed at all the bruising. "How can I make an impression if you've got to be covered up from head to toe?" he moaned.

"Cinna seemed to manage it," I pointed out, annoying him even more.

I ended up in a simple long black dress with long sleeves to hide the bruising. Keeping with the partners theme, Prim was in a similar dress, but much shorter and sleeveless.

Ceasar was his usual cheerful self. "Well, we thought you wouldn't be able to top your start from last year, but that was quite a show on the chariot."

"Well, Ceasar, you must have heard the gossip. I'm really hot this year."

There were some sniggers and a few catcalls from the crowd.

"And I like fire. On cold nights in twelve, a good fire makes you so nice and warm, so warm it even melts snow, and I can afford coal, now I'm a victor. Before, we just froze."

Ceasar looked slightly alarmed when I mentioned melting snow.

"Of course living where I live," I continued, "you have to be careful. There's coal dust everywhere and if you don't keep a fire under control, it spreads. One of our old neighbors lost their house that way."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied politely, unsure what I was up to.

"But of course, we don't need a fire to keep warm tonight. Don't you think it's hot this evening? Or maybe it's just me. Prim? Can you help me?"

I stood up and Prim quickly unzipped my dress, which I slipped off. Underneath the dress I'd worn a simple pair of panties and a little strappy white top which came to just below my breasts.

On the top, I'd written, Snow's Sex Slave. I don't know whether Ceasar and the audience gasped more at that or at the fact that I was covered in bruises.

"Yeah, Ceasar, I've been really hot this year, just like Finnick. It's amazing what you'll do to keep someone safe."

That's when they cut the lights to the stage. Ceasar never even had the chance to interview Prim.

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Author's notes...

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**


	3. Chapter 3

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Three**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

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Ceasar was beside himself. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"Snow's going to kill us anyway or have us killed, you must know that, don't you?"

He didn't answer.

"But you don't care do you? You send twenty four kids off every year, knowing that twenty three will be murdered and the other enslaved for life and you don't care. So please, explain to me why I should care if I get you killed?"

"It's just my job. If I didn't do it, somebody else would."

"Yeah. Always someone in the Capitol willing to help murder children from the Districts. Tell it to the families of the children you've helped to kill."

Prim and I were escorted back to our room and immediately locked in.

Normally, if Prim can't sleep at night, she gets into bed with our mother, leaving me to wake up alone, as I had done over a year ago on the day Prim was reaped for the first time.

But tonight, although we each had our own separate bed here, she climbed in with me. For a long time neither of us said anything. There didn't seem to be anything to say.

Finally, she asked me, "Were you scared the night before your first games?"

"Terrified," I said.

"You didn't look it on the pad," she told me.

"You can't look scared or the careers will target you," I said, "But I was so scared."

"So am I," she whispered.

I hugged her tightly. I wanted desperately to say everything would be all right, but I knew it wouldn't be. I briefly remembered the desperation I'd felt when Rue was dying and I'd so much wanted to tell her that everything would be all right. Now I was in the same position with my sister. I'd volunteered for the games to save her, now she was going to die and there was nothing at all I could do about it.

I wasn't scared this time, I was angry. The Capitol was killing my little sister and the Capitol was going to pay. And Snow was going to pay. He had destroyed my family, his mines killing my father and breaking down my mother. Now he had fixed it for Prim to be reaped again so that he could publicly kill both of us. I wanted him to suffer before I killed him.

I felt myself clenching and unclenching my fists until Prim wrapped her smaller hand around one of mine.

"You're going to have to kill a lot of them, aren't you? To win, I mean," she asked.

I nodded even though she could barely see me in the dim nightlight.

"Don't let it make you into a monster," she told me.

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The gong sounded and we were off and running, as quickly as we could to get away from the cornucopia. Prim had stated in a small, trembling voice that she wanted to get it over with, to get me safely out as quickly as possible, and had stated her intention to run into the cornucopia, but both Haymitch and Cinna had pointed out that they don't send the hovercraft at once during the bloodbath, leaving plenty of time for them to kill me too.

For once I had had nothing to say, nothing to contribute. It was completely illogical, but I was angry at all of them, even Prim, for calmly planning her death so that I might live.

To my everlasting shame, I stayed angry, even with Prim, until we were on the launchpad and I felt her trembling beside me.

"Come on, little Duck, we can do this," I told her.

She actually managed a slight smile as she said "Quack."

This time there was a bow and a set of arrows much closer to me than in my first games, but they were no temptation. I knew the reason they were there was to get me killed and I wasn't going to give Snow that satisfaction.

So we ran, as fast as Prim could run, away from the cornucopia, away from the bloodbath, into the forest. I glanced back to check that we weren't being followed, but Prim didn't look back once.

To my surprise, Prim hadn't hesitated a bit on entering the forest. I couldn't help remembering how she'd been terrified of the forest when I'd tried to teach her to hunt.

When we came to a place I felt was safe, for now, I helped her climb up a tree, bringing back memories of Rue, who would have needed no such help. But Prim, the old Prim, would have been too scared to climb, even with my help.

"You've changed," I commented. In fact, I realised, Prim had been different from when I returned from my first games, I'd just been so preoccupied with my own problems and confusions that I'd not really taken any notice of her.

Prim laughed. She actually laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You are," she replied. "Do you have any idea what it was like for us?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I was reaped, I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a hammer. It didn't seem real. My worst fear... As I began to walk, I thought about every terrible way I could be killed. I thought nothing could be worse than this. Then you pushed me aside and I knew something could be worse than dying. Do you think I haven't noticed how many times you went hungry, to make sure that I had enough to eat? Or how hard you worked to keep us alive?"

She was getting upset. "It's okay," I said.

"No, it's not okay. They were taking you away, the one person I could depend on, the one person who'd never let me down, no matter what. It was bad enough seeing you go hungry for me, but now you were going to die for me. I just remember screaming to try to stop you, then someone dragged me away."

"Gale," I said.

"I know," she gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "because the next thing I remember was watching mum in the bathroom in the Justice Building cleaning up the nosebleed I gave him. She didn't want you to see him all bloody when we went to say goodbye."

I laughed. "You gave Gale a nosebleed?"

"Well, he wouldn't let me stop you," she said with a grin. Then her face grew serious. "Then that night I had to watch it all over again. And I thought, if I'd just been faster. If I hadn't just walked so slowly, you wouldn't have had a chance. And I'd be going to die, like I should have been, not you."

I reached to comfort her, but she pulled away.

"Then I saw you on the chariot and you looked... amazing. And I couldn't wait for you to come back so I could tell you how amazing you looked. Then I remembered, the chances of you coming back, well, they weren't good."

I laughed at that. We'd never talked about the games since I won. It seemed a strange time to talk about them now, but if not now, then when? And she obviously needed to.

"Then when they announced your score... It was the first time I dared let myself hope that you might come home alive. Then the interview. And you said how much you loved me and I wished I'd been horrible to you, so you wouldn't have wanted to take my place. I wanted to run all the way to the Capitol and beg them to forget you'd volunteered and take me instead."

Her smile returned for a moment. "Then the look on your face when Peeta said you were the girl he wanted. You looked stunned. I couldn't believe you hadn't guessed. I mean, it was obvious on the chariots how he felt about you, the way he kept looking at you."

"Not to me. Even then I still didn't believe it."

"That was obvious. You always were better at reading animals than people. I thought I was going to die when I saw you at the bloodbath. I closed my eyes until Mom told me you'd got away. After that it got worse, seeing you burned like that. I knew how much it must have hurt and all I could think was, it should have been me in the arena, not you. When I saw the Trackerjackers I was shouting at the screen for you to look up. Then Rue warned you and all I could think was I wished I could thank her."

I think we both had a sad smile as we thought of Rue.

"Then after you'd managed to get away with the bow, you were unconscious for so long. When I went to school I felt like everyone was thinking, 'Her sister's going to die because of her.' I'm sure they weren't, in fact everyone was trying to be really nice. That night Peeta's dad came with bread, really good bread, the kind we could never afford. And I told him I didn't deserve it, that it was because of me that you were going to die."

For the first time in her story, Prim was crying. "And he put his arms around me, and he held me, just like Dad..." She sniffed loudly. "Just like Dad used to."

I put my own arms around her and this time she didn't pull away.

"He told me that Peeta had said he would try to make sure you came home. We'd just seen him save you from that big Career boy, so I knew he was telling me the truth." Prim smiled again. "Then you found Rue, and I knew she reminded you of me, even if we don't look alike."

"And Mom said you'd be okay now, because you needed someone to look after. Then she was killed and you sang the song you used to sing to me and all I could wish is that you'd come home and sing it again. But when you did come home, I forgot to ask you."

"I'll sing it now if you like," I offered.

"No," she replied. "It's Rue's song now. It belongs to her. We saw you start covering her with flowers and I wondered what her family thought of that. Then they cut the picture and quickly went to a shot of the careers arguing."

"They didn't want her shown like a human being," I said bitterly, "like someone who mattered."

"They weren't quick enough. One look at the fury on your face told everyone what you were doing. I was in school when Rue was killed, but they were showing it to us in the classroom, live. The teacher was embarrassed, she didn't know what to say, but I wanted to cheer and yell, 'that's my sister', as if they didn't know. I was so proud of you."

I hugged her more tightly for a moment.

"It was quite funny watching you with Peeta, trying to heal him, at least it would have been if he wasn't so badly hurt. Some of the class thought you were really in love with him, I couldn't believe they were so stupid. Then there was the feast, and Mom tried to make me look away, but I wouldn't. You were only there because of me and I wasn't going to look away. I owed it to you."

"You didn't owe me anything," I said.

She ignored me. "Then Thresh let you go and everything seemed to be getting better and better. I really began to believe you were coming home to us. Even when I saw the mutts, I felt like they'd never be able to stop you. Then you had those berries..."

"Those damned berries," I said.

"And I thought it was over, you'd die. Then it was over and you were coming home. In school that day, I can't remember how many people came up and hugged me. Even on the way to school people were coming up and shaking my hand. One woman I didn't even know bent down and kissed me. Every time she saw me in school, Madge hugged me. She seemed even more excited than I was."

Her face turned serious.

"Then you did come home and I knew some of you died in the arena. You weren't the same. We didn't laugh and joke like we used to. But I didn't mind, because you were home. That was all that mattered. Then that day with Snow," she spat the name out like a piece of rotten food, "and even before I tried to kill him, I knew that we'd never be free, he'd never leave any of us alone. And I can't beat him, but you can. I know you can."

I'm sure they'd been showing Prim as she told her story, the Capitol laps up emotional stuff like that. I wondered how much all of Panem had heard of that last bit, before they cut the signal. Or if they'd cut it earlier when she talked about Rue and the flowers.

"No," I said. "WE'LL beat him. I make you win these games and we'll both go home."

She looked at me sadly, then gave me a smile. "Really?" she said, in her best little girl voice. "You think you can save both of us?"

"I can try," I said. "And last time I promised you I'd really try, I did it, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did," she agreed.

She snuggled into my arms and after a short time I knew from the change in her breathing that she'd gone to sleep.

I let her sleep most of the night. I didn't want to wake her, but I knew if I was to have any chance to get us out of there, I needed to be alert.

"Don't let me sleep too long," I warned her.

When I woke up, she'd gone.

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Author's notes...

** Sorry for the delay. I've been exhausted with some very ill puppies, three of whom sadly died. **

** In my facebook … facebook... /brigrove you can see the four puppies I named after Katniss, Prim, Rue and Peeta. Peeta and Rue have been adopted now, but Katniss (the fighter!) and Prim (who is much crazier than the Prim in the book) are still waiting for a family.**

** The council are trying to close the refuge, due to complaints from a neighbour who hates the dogs and has done since we came here. But I won't go without a fight. Anyone got a bow and arrow I could borrow? And some archery lessons?**

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**


	4. Chapter 4

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Four**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

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Without even thinking, I jumped down from the tree. I should have known she'd agreed to my change of plan too easily. I should have known. I made myself calm down. I needed to be a hunter again. Look for traces. There. She'd gone that way. I ran, not caring if the whole pack of careers were in my path. Then I heard it, an awful scream. It had to be Prim. Even worse than the scream Rue had let out. She wasn't close. She must have got away the moment she was sure that I was asleep.

I was running almost blindly now, I didn't even need to think about where to, my sister's awful screams guided me every step of the way.

Then the screaming stopped. I forced myself to run ever faster and burst into a clearing just as a canon sounded.

The same moment as I saw Prim, blood literally running from so many knife wounds on her body, her white face contorted in agony, the pair from Two saw me. They smiled. "Now it's sister's turn."

I was unarmed. I wanted to tear them apart with my bare hands, and even though I knew they'd kill me, at that moment I didn't care.

As the two from Two faced me, a knife came from behind the girl, flew into the center of her back and she coughed up blood and collapsed.

The boy from two and I both spun around at the same time, and we both saw a girl, the girl from Ten. She took off at a run and the boy from Two ran after her in a rage.

I heard their sounds as they crashed through the forest, getting further and further away, then a brief scream and a canon.

The hovercraft was overhead now, I'd not even noticed it coming. I flung myself over Prim's body and we were lifted away, out of the arena, to safety.

I could hear shouting from the cockpit which quickly died down after the sound of a shot. After that, it seemed to be only seconds before we landed, though it must have been longer than that.

A doctor came on board and smothered my arm where the tracker was with some kind of cream. It felt like the ice cream I'd once eaten in the Capitol, but colder, the cold seemed to go deep into my arm. She sliced into my arm and removed the tracker, then scanned my arm to make sure I was "clean" as she put it, before applying something which literally stuck the wound back together.

"I should tell you to rest it for a few days, but there's not much point, is there?"

I shook my head, not really interested in my arm or even my plans for the Capitol. Ignoring the doctor I turned back to Prim. My dear, sweet, innocent Prim. What have they done to you? And then, they'd laughed! I hated the career districts almost as much as the Capitol. No song for Prim. No flowers. No time to hold her as she died. And, to my surprise, no tears, not yet anyway. Tears could come later. I was numb, and cold, so cold.

On the other side of the hovercraft was the dead body of a girl, the girl from Ten, I thought. If it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't breathing, you could believe that they'd made a mistake and she was still alive. There was a boy sitting next to her, holding her hand, crying. He looked about my age. Her brother maybe?

At the back of the hovercraft was the body of the girl from Two. I forced myself to ignore her, when I wanted to tear her limb from limb with my bare hands. A young girl who couldn't have been more than twelve was facing away from us and resting her head on her sister's chest. The doctor informed me that she'd drugged her so we could talk freely.

I don't know how long I sat there, looking at Prim. I wanted to turn away. This pale lifeless form wasn't how I wanted to remember her, but like so many other things, that wasn't mine to choose.

I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name. Again. This time more loudly.

"Katniss!"

I looked up, angry at the interruption. It was the boy. He looked like he'd been through hell too, so I bit my tongue and refrained from yelling at him.

"We'll be arriving in the Capitol soon," he said. "I was asked to give you these letters."

"Letters?"

He handed me two identical envelopes. I looked at them, as if I didn't know what to do with them.

"Do you want me to read them for you?" he asked.

Read them? Is that what I'm supposed to do now? When I didn't react, he said, "This one is from my sister," he said.

Why would his sister be writing to me?

He cleared his throat. "Dear Katniss. You don't know me, but I know you and I know your sister. If you're reading this letter, it means that I am dead. Hopefully, I died protecting you. I once had an older brother who was a Victor. They tried to make him be like Finnick and do what I know they've been making you do. He thought he could save our family by killing himself, but it didn't work. They poisoned our entire family, except that I had been sent to work at another farm that day. When I got back, they were all dead, except Senata, my brother who is with me in the games. The poison made him sick so he brought up most of it. But it's still killing him, just more slowly. He has trouble even walking now and won't survive much longer."

He paused. It seemed to be the right time to say something. "I'm sorry about your family," I said. It sounded completely inadequate.

He nodded, and continued. "As I'd escaped the poisoning, they made sure I was reaped. When I saw that Prim was reaped, I knew she'd been set up just like I had been. When she told me of her plan to get you out, I swore I'd protect you. They were going to stay near Prim's body to prevent the hovercraft rescuing you. You're must be feeling really bad right now, but you need to snap out of it. You probably have no idea how much you and your rebellion mean to people in the Districts who've never even met you. And when I saw your interview, I knew that promising Prim to help get you out alive was the one good thing I could still do that would mean something. I believe you can beat them. FireGirl, our Mockingjay, it's time to melt some Snow. As I know Prim is going to tell you, You have to win Katniss. Your friend, Esmerelda Pantone."

His voice broke a little as he finished.

I got up and went over to his sister, looking amazingly peaceful in death, this girl I'd never known, but who had given her life for me. I took a deep breath and took Esmerelda's cold hand, then looked at her brother. "I will win. I swear it. I will finish him, finish all of them."

Tears in his eyes, he nodded. He handed me another envelope. "You might want to read this one yourself. It's from Prim," he said.

I almost dropped the envelope even though I'd expected the other letter to be from her. My hands were trembling as I opened it.

"Dear Katniss, It seems weird writing a letter to you when you're asleep in the same room. But a lot of things have been weird lately. For a long time really. I mean, could you ever have imagined your little duck trying to kill the President? I should have guessed he'd have armor, like Cato did in your games. I bet you'd have gone for his face."

Against my own will, I smiled a little. I would have gone for his face, or more likely his throat.

"If you're reading this, my plan worked, which means I'm dead and you're alive and you're probably thinking it's not worth it. Well, you're wrong. You know how you always said you'd never have kids, because you couldn't bear to see them get reaped? I want the other girls in my class to grow up never having to think like that. I want there to be proper doctors in all the districts and enough food for everyone. And I know that the only way that will happen is if you make it happen. Nobody else will. It has to be you. And that's why me dying was worth it, whatever they did to me. Not just because I love you and want you to live, but because of what you mean to people."

What did I mean to people? I was just a not very sociable slave of the Capitol.

"I've been talking with one of the girls about my plan. She's Esmerelda, from District Ten. She thinks the careers will stay with my body, to stop the hovercraft rescuing you when they get my body. That way they'll be able to kill you. So she's going to try to kill them or get them away somehow. She knows they'll kill her for it, but she says it's worth it. So it isn't just me saying it. Don't let people forget her."

I glanced across at Esmerelda's body, then turned over the page.

"I know you won't let me go through with the plan, so I probably had to run away from you. I wanted to run away anyway. I don't want you to have to watch me die, especially if they cut me up slowly like they've been threatening to do. You're probably mad with me right now, but get mad with Snow instead. I know you'll have to kill a lot of people and I know you'll hate it. That's good. It means you're still human. I also know you'll try to do too much alone, like you always do. Remember, when they offer to help you, it isn't just for you, this is their fight too. I'm not saying you have to do everything they say, but don't be too proud or stubborn to accept help. The whole of Panem depends on it. I didn't die for you just because you're my big sister and I love you, but you're also my Mockingjay. I know you want to mourn me, but now is the time to fly, Mockingjay, fly. And don't forget, you promised me you'd win and go back and be nice to Mom. Love, your little duck, Primrose Everdeen."

In brackets underneath, she'd written "quack". It was the quack that did it, the same as it was the ducktail which brought me to my senses when Prim had been reaped the first time. I broke down sobbing making Prim's letter smudge in places.

"Katniss. We'll be dropping you off soon." It was the doctor who'd removed my tracker.

"Dropping me off?"

"We're going to drop you off in one place then fly on to another to lead them away from you. That way, if anyone is out to kill you, we'll be your decoy."

At the word decoy, the ridiculous thought, 'quack' went through my mind.

"Now, we'll give you your bow and the sixty arrows you asked for before we lower you down, though I don't know why you need sixty."

"I'm going reaping," I replied. "One Capitol citizen for every person they sent to the arena."

If she was shocked, she managed not to show it. "That's forty-eight."

"Even I miss sometimes," I pointed out.

She handed me a small metal box.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Press this button to record a message. Press it again when you're done. Press the red button and it'll send the message in what's called a micro-burst, taking a tiny fraction of a second. Someone will be monitoring it all the time, day and night. If it vibrates and this bit lights up, you have a message. Just press the blue button to hear it, hold it down to delete it."

"What if I lose it?" I asked.

"Don't," she replied firmly. "While you're in the Capitol, the backup plan is to go to the restaurant near the training center an hour before dawn. It'll be being watched. But it's risky."

I nodded.

"Talking of restaurants, this bag has food and water, enough for a few days, plus a few changes of clothes and various other bits and pieces."

She got me to step onto the ladder which would lower me down. I felt the familiar charge which held me firmly to the ladder.

"Goodbye, Mockingjay, and good luck," she said. "I doubt we'll meet again."

"Goodbye. Wait! What do you mean? Why won't we meet again?"

"Whenever we land, they'll know something's not right. And they'll have orders to shoot you anyway. You were never meant to leave the arena alive."

"But, why don't you come with me?"

She smiled sadly. "I know how you can make contact. We can't risk my being captured. Once we're away from here, it's nightlock for me."

"But at least let Esmerelda's brother go free."

"She was the last of his family. He wants to go with her. And we'll drop off the little girl from Two at a clinic a few blocks away before we fly off." I confess I hadn't even thought about the little sister of the girl from Two.

I was trapped by the current holding me. More people were going to die for me and I could do nothing about it.

"I will win," I promised her.

"Of that I have no doubt, Katniss." She smiled as I was lowered out of the belly of the hovercraft. Then I realized I didn't even know her name.

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Author's notes...

** Wow! Two chapters in one day! Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **


	5. Chapter 5

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Five**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters.**

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

The moment the current released me I was off and running. Decoy or no, I knew the Capitol Peacekeepers would be swarming to this area soon. I had to not be here, and fast.

But if I was spotted, I'd be instantly recognisable. Even if my face wasn't so well-known, my clothes, my whole look screamed out "District Girl who doesn't belong here".

To my amazement, I was in an area which seemed dirty, run down, and neglected. I'd thought all of the Capitol was pristine and colorful, too colorful. I ran for about a mile, to get away from the place where I'd been dropped off. There were still few people up at this early hour and nobody in this area seemed interested in a girl running.

There was a huge metal container which smelled bad. As I reached it I could see it was full of garbage, mostly rotting food. Nobody here poor enough to scavenge the thrown-out food then. I got behind it, between the container and the wall. I was hidden well enough, unless someone came right to me and I had my bow ready if that happened.

I opened my bag to see what clothes they'd given me, deciding to leave the food until later, when I away from this awful stench. To my surprise, on top of the clothes was a small mirror and a bag labelled make-up. Make-up? For a moment I thought they were crazy, then I realized, they'd foreseen my problem. It became clear now why Cinna had got my prep team to show me how to make myself look decent, like a Capitol girl. I'd been angry at the time, but it had been Cinna who had insisted, so I grudgingly went along with it. First was a pot of blue paste, labelled 'HAIR', which I worked into my hair, turning it a dark blue and changing it's texture into tight curls. A smaller pot labelled 'SKIN BASE' turned the skin of my face and hands a sickly green. Black eye-shadow and lipstick, the latest fashion, completed the look. A glance in the mirror confirmed that I hated it, but it didn't look like me, which was what I wanted.

A few changes of clothes, the doctor had said? There were two whole bags of clothes, one labelled "CAPITOL-HUNTING", the other labelled "CAPITOL-NORMAL". Though I was looking for something normal to wear, or at least, normal for the Capitol, which meant anything but normal, I couldn't resist looking into the hunting bag. A number of sets of leggings and long-sleeved tops. But they had jagged patterns of different shades of grey and black and a dark sandy color. One set was even reddish in tone. Why would he think these would be good for hunting? Okay, they would be comfortable to wear and flexible, wouldn't snag on anything and, by the feel of the material, might even give me some protection, but the weird bold patterns? What was he thinking? There was an envelope, so I quickly opened it. The paper inside was almost tissue thin.

"Katniss, you are probably wondering about the clothes. They are patterned after the clothes armies used to wear in the old days. They may seem strange, but if you stay perfectly still, the patterns will break up your outline, making you difficult to see, or at least, difficult to identify as a human being. Pick a set which most closely matches the buildings or other terrain where you are. The matching socks have a hardened rubber base, which means that you won't need shoes and you can walk in them more quietly than you would be able to do in boots or shoes. Good hunting, Mockingjay. Please eat this letter to destroy it."

I wasn't entirely convinced that these bold patterned clothes would hide me from anyone, but Cinna had never failed me yet. I ate the letter as he said. To my slight surprise, it almost melted in my mouth, but was tasteless.

I turned to the other bag. Another envelope. Another letter.

"Katniss, you will probably hate me, but I've picked mainly short skirts rather than pants." I groaned mentally. "Skirts because it's the last thing Katniss would wear, short so you can easily run if you have to. The tops are a variety of styles which are popular with girls your age right now. You can mix and match them as you like. Just remember that clashing bright colors are in at the moment, so don't wear two things of the same color." I grinned. Don't wear anything that might make you look anything like normal, I thought. "With this letter are a number of plastic cards. They will get you onto trains and buses. Don't use one more than a few times. In the pocket of this bag is a map. It is a map of the Capitol, and it also shows all the train lines and bus routes within the Capitol. If you lose it, you can pick one up free at any train station or bus terminal." Cinna, I thought. You've thought of everything, though I'm sure it wasn't only Cinna who had decided what to give me. "The smaller bag has a number of things like a tin opener, a small set of a knife, fork and spoon, pen and paper in case you have to leave a written message to us for some reason and a few other odds and ends." His letter finished off, "Good luck, Katniss. Remember that there are people who care about you, Katniss, not just the Mockingjay, so don't take any unnecessary risks." No, Cinna, I thought. I'm just starting a war against the Capitol. Nothing risky about that at all. But I teared up a little at his words anyway. I was alone, but not completely. It wasn't like the arena immediately after Rue died. I had a way to call someone if I needed to. I had food, water and more clothes than I'd ever owned in my life. The letter ended like the other, "Please eat this letter to destroy it."

I did so, then selected a black top with silver vertical stripes on the front and back and a garish green and yellow skirt to put on. The shoes were practical, good for running in and came in three colors, red, yellow or black. I chose the red. Deciding that I must look suitably ridiculous, I repacked my bag and began walking towards the center of the Capitol.

After a few hours walking, during which there had been a flurry of hovercraft over the zone, none of which had shown any interest in me, I decided to see if I could try out one of these trains to make my way to the center. I'd found my place on the map quite easily, but where it showed train lines, there didn't seem to be any. Was this part of the Capitol so poor that they hadn't bothered to build the train lines yet? I seemed to be getting into better-looking areas, but still no sign of a train line. And I hadn't even heard a train.

The map showed a station at the next intersection, but where was it? Then I noticed. The big round sign with a huge M on it was the same as on the corner of the map. Below the sign were stairs. But the stairs moved! How did you get on them? And if you did let them take you down below, how did you get back out again? I stood back and watched as a couple of girls passed me. They were a few years younger than me, I thought. I couldn't stop myself thinking, about Prim's age. They stepped onto the moving stairs without thinking twice. I quickly followed, almost losing my balance as I landed. I'd follow them for a while, see how they acted, what they did. It was one thing looking like a Capitol girl, it was another thing being like one. I just hoped that I wouldn't have to say anything to anyone. The moment I opened my mouth would be like announcing District Girl Here.

At the bottom of the moving stairs, they met up with another pair of girls, before going to another, much longer set of stairs. How far down were they taking us? I thought.

One of the two new girls was all excited. "Did you hear the news?," she gasped breathlessly. "That Katniss girl, the Firegirl. She's escaped."

"Escaped? But what about her sister? Prom or something?"

"Oh, some career killed her. Gruesome it was, really good. I'm gonna bet on the one who killed her later." I felt anger run through me. The bow they'd given me folded into three parts and was neatly packed in my bag, but easy to reach if I had to. I forced myself to calm down. I'd give myself away this way. I wanted so much to kill this girl, even if she was only Prim's age. Perhaps I could follow them until I could do it and get away.

"It wasn't good, it was horrible," the girl standing next to her cried out. "And her name's Prim, or was. She was only as old as us. Nobody should suffer like that. I felt so sorry for her. I hate the games."

I gasped, shocked at the idea of a girl from the Capitol thinking like that.

The other girl sighed. "Sometimes I can't believe you're my twin. You're so weird."

Before she could answer, one of the other pair, the pair I'd been following first, said, "Can't you two ever stop arguing? Even on your birthday? Anyway, you said she escaped, surely they took her out of the arena once her sister was dead?"

"Yes, but the hovercraft disappeared. And when they found it, it tried to escape, so they shot it down."

"So she's dead."

"That's the thing. When they searched the wreck, her body wasn't there. All the others were dead and their bodies were there, but hers wasn't. They reckon she couldn't have survived the crash, so she must forced them to let out of the hovercraft earlier. They're going to execute the pilot's family for letting her go."

More deaths so that I could be free, I thought. This time it didn't make me feel bad. I didn't feel good about it either, but I didn't feel guilty.

The one girl who handed spoken yet gave a sigh. "Oh. I wish I could be Katniss."

You wish what? I thought.

"She's so romantic."

"Romatic? Katniss? Never." sneered the first girl, the one who'd enjoyed Prim's murder. It was the first time I'd agreed with her. "Now if you were talking about that hunk of hers, Peeta. I'd share a cave with him any time."

"But her life is so exciting. And it must be great being a Victor."

Yeah, really great, I thought bitterly. Did they really believe this rubbish? I didn't catch the reply as there was a roaring sound, as we'd finally reached the bottom of the stairs and I saw that they each stepped off, lifting their feet clear of the stairs which were disappearing under the floor. I just managed to lift my feet in time. I wobbled slightly on landing on the firm floor and decided, I don't like stairs which move. It isn't natural. But then, I thought, this is the Capitol. Nothing is natural.

I'd been distracted and had almost lost my target. Yes. The girl who'd enjoyed Prim's murder would be my first target, I decided. Originally I'd planned on only killing adults, not like the Capitol, but she deserved it.

I was startled by another roar and a rush of wind. Nobody else seemed bothered, so I relaxed. There was a barrier and I saw them each put a card similar to the ones I had been given against a small rectangle on the wall, the barrier lifted and one of them passed through. By the time the last on had done this I had quickly taken out of of my cards and did the same. Above the rectangle a tiny glass screem displayed a number which changed as the barrier lifted. One through the barrier, we turned a corner and I saw the source of the noise and wind. It was a train, but what was it doing underground?

Doors slid open automatically and the girls got on. I ran to the next set of doors and also got on. The doors closed and it moved away silently. We passed a number of stations and I looked at the map. I saw the M sign at the top, followed by the words Capitol Metro. So M was for Metro, I thought. We seemed to be heading away from the center, but it didn't matter, I'd already selected my first target.

When they got off, I continued to follow them, hoping that they wouldn't look back. They didn't. This station must have been closer to the surface as the moving stairs weren't so long here and there was only one of them, well, two, one for up and one for down. Honestly, I thought, what are they like in the Capitol? They can't even walk up stairs on their own, they need to be taken.

This area was nicer than the one we'd left. The four girls went through a gate into a large garden. They even had a big place with water, like a lake, but made of concrete and painted blue inside with paving stones all the way around it.

"Finally! You're here!" a woman cried out. "We were afraid with that Mocking girl loose. Anything could have happened with a girl of that type around."

I wasn't sure whether to be insulted at the sneer as she said "girl of that type" or pleased that Capitol people were already scared that I was loose. It would make my job harder, but that's what I wanted, to scare them, to bring to them some of the fear they'd brought to the districts for so long.

"Come on, Come on. You were almost late for your birth hour. Cut the ice cream gateaux before it melts. Count down now. 10... 9..."

Everyone joined in the countdown, "8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

From the hiding place I'd found behind some shrubbery, I could see the two girls hold a knife together over an enormous thing shaped like a cake but made of ice cream.

"You know," said the girl who hated the games, "really Sangora shouldn't be doing this yet. Her birth hour isn't for another hour and forty minutes. But I love you so much sis, that I'll let you." She gave her sister a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too, even if you are weird," my target replied.

The knife easily sliced through the ice cream cake. After everyone had all eaten their ice cream, I waited for a time when I would have a clear shot at my target and when it would be easy to get away safely.

It was almost an hour later when suddenly the others at the party grabbed the two birthday girls and while singing some kind of rhyme, carried them to the pool and threw them in.

"Happy Birthday!" they cried.

The two bedraggled girls climbed out of the pool. Both girls shivered. The water was obviously cold.

Their mother called out. "Hot shower, both of you. Your spare clothes are in the downstairs bathroom so you don't drip water everywhere. You shouldn't really have gone in the pool so soon after ice cream."

"You go first, Sangora," the girl who hated the gates said. "I'll go when you come out." She wrapped a towel around herself, but continued shivering.

My target passed right by me to go into the house. I was ready. When she came out, I'd let her see me. But it would be too late for her. I wanted her to see me before I killed her, this girl who'd enjoyed watching Prim be tortured and murdered.

As I heard the shower run, I thought of how Prim must have suffered and how this girl had thought it was so good. I hated her. She would be the first to pay for Prim's murder, but she wouldn't be the last, this heartless, faceless, Capitol girl.

She was heartless, I thought, but not faceless, not nameless. She was Sangora, and her twin sister loved her. Her twin sister who hated the games, who'd felt sorry for Prim. Her twin sister who I couldn't help but like, ridiculed for being weird because she hated the games.

Sangora came out and I stayed hidden although my bow was ready. Making her see me didn't seem so important now. I pulled back on the string of the bow... and nothing.

She walked past me. A few moments later her twin sister, whose name I didn't know, walked past, going into the shower. I quickly reached into my bag and felt around for the pen and paper.

"You saved your sister's life today by what you said about my sister Prim. I wish there were more here like you." I signed it simply, "Katniss".

I pushed the arrow through the center of the paper and fired it into the door. I should get away, I thought, but I wanted to see her reaction. She opened the door as saw my silver arrow. There was instant fear on her face, then she saw the note. She looked at the arrow to work out where it had been fired from. She walked closer to where I had been when I'd fired the arrow, but actually slightly further from where I was by that time. She didn't go too close to the bushes.

"I don't know if you're still here," she said in a shaky voice, "but thank you." She turned away, unknowingly almost facing me. Then she turned back to the bushes again. "And I'm really sorry about your sister. I'm going back in the bathroom now, for another ten minutes. Then they'll wonder where I am, so somebody will come and find your arrow and note."

That was more than I'd hoped for. I had time to get away safely. As I made my way towards the center, I thought. One arrow down. No kill. Fifty-nine to go.

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Author's notes...

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**


	6. Chapter 6

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Six**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Her first kill... almost.**

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment - Prim and Punishment

I decided not to head directly to the center, so I boarded the train, or Metro, as they called it, in the other direction. I saw from the map that if I changed trains after five stations, I could take another train that went in almost a circle around the Capitol and head into the center from another direction.

In the station where I had to change trains, I got lost and ended up on a train going in the opposite direction around the circle to that which I had planned, but I decided that it didn't really matter.

As I was changing trains for the second time, to head into the Capitol, my stomach gave a loud rumble and I remembered – I had food!

I decided to go up and out into the open and find somewhere to site and eat. The exit of the station took me to a large square. It was the most natural place I'd seen so far in the Capitol with beautiful cut grasses, with various paths criss-crossing the square, the paths lined with large flowers. It was a little too formal for my taste, but it didn't feel as cold and artificial as the rest of the Capitol I'd seen so far.

Other people liked it too. The whole square was scattered with wooden benches. Some were occupied with people. There were a few young couples, doing what young couples do whether they are in the Capitol or in the Districts. There was some older people sitting and eating. And there were several women, watching as heir little children ran and played. It all seemed so innocent, so harmless, a world away from what the Capitol did to us, except for one thing. In the centre of the square was a huge screen. It was showing the Hunger Games. To avoid it I walked to the other side, but the screen was double-sided.

On each side of the screen were huge loudspeakers, but they were silent now. Under the screens were a series of small booths. One was offering headphones by the hour or half hour, or Capitolites could go into one of the other booths and watch relays of their favourite moments.

Not so innocent then, I thought. As all the benches faced the screens, I sat on the grass, facing away from the screen and took out one of the tins of food and a metal container of drink. Opening the drink I found that it was refreshingly cool. Orange juice. I gulped down more than I should have in one go, then turn to the food. This one didn't need a tin opener. It had a ring on the top where it was written "PULL HERE – WARNING VERY HOT WHEN OPENED". What was that supposed to mean? Were you supposed to cook the food in the tin before you opened it? But they must know that I can't do that.

I pulled the ring. Within a minute the tin itself began to get warn, then too hot to hold. I quickly put it down on the ground. The food was bubbling away, then it stopped bubbling. Very gingerly, I used the cloth the knife, fork and spoon had been wrapped in to pick up the tin. The smell was instantly recognisable. My favourite. Capitol Lamb Stew. I took a spoonful and quickly blew on it to cool it down a little before putting it into my mouth. Tinned or not, it was as good as ever.

The square was filling up with people as it began to get dark. Before I had finished, the loudspeakers at the side of the screens blared to life with the Panem Anthem. I didn't want to see, but I couldn't help myself. Prim's face showed up on the screen, with the number 12 in the bottom right-hand corner. In the arena, that's all we see, but here, outside the arena, I knew this would be followed by the video of her death.

I tried to look away, but it was like something was forcing me to watch. Prim, walking innocently through the forest and straight out into the clearing where the careers had made their camp. The rest of the careers were obviously out hunting as these two had been resting.

Resting or not, they were upon her in seconds. She struggled but a hard punch from the girl sent her sprawling to the ground.

"Where's your sister?" the boy asked.

"I... I don't know," Prim lied. "I was looking for her. I got lost."

"Don't worry," he said. "You're found now."

The girl then asked the boy, "Last cut loses?"

"Okay," he agreed. "You go first. Winner gets to kill her sister."

"What's 'Last cut loses'?" Prim asked nervously.

The girl smiled, her otherwise pretty face hard and cold. "We take it in turns to cut you," she explained. "But we have to try not to kill you. If you die after a cut, before the other one has their turn, that person loses. Now, where shall I start? I know. Your ankles. Stop you running away."

Before Prim could react, the girl had slashed into Prim's right Achilles tendon. I finally managed to look away, but Prim's scream echoed around the square followed by a cheer from the crowd in the square.

Another scream was followed by another cheer. Then another. And another. It went on and on. I was fighting a battle to keep my Lamb stew down. I lost. I looked around. Now Prim was bleeding from every part of her body and her screams had become a low whimper.

A boy near me grinned at me, having noticed I'd been sick. "Gruesome isn't? The best one for years. Don't you just love the careers?"

I couldn't answer him.

Not far away a little girl was yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, lift me up higher. I can't see."

He lifted her onto his shoulders. "Better sweety?" he asked.

"Much better, Daddy."

"Can you see them killing the District brat okay?"

"Yes, Daddy."

As Prim's canon sounded, I came on screen, running into the clearing. Then the screen showed a photo of the girl from District Two before continuing the video. As the two careers turned on me I saw Esmerelda throw a knife hard and accurately into the girl from Two's back. She collapsed at once. Fewer cheers from the crowd here this time. Esmerelda threw another knife at the boy, but he moved just in time. Then the screen showed a photo of Esmerelda before continuing the video. The District Two boy grabbed his sword, he ran after Esmerelda as she ran away. He didn't take long to catch her and put his sword in her back. More cheers as her canon sounded. At least her death was quick, I thought.

I crept away and bent down to my bag. Looking at the buildings surrounding the square, I noticed they were mostly red brick, so I took out my dark red leggings and pulled them on before slipping off my skirt. The ease of changing was another benefit to wearing a skirt which I bet Cinna hadn't thought of. Or maybe he had. It wouldn't surprise me if he had. I slipped on the matching socks and put my shoes and skirt in the bag. Then I pulled the long-sleeved top over my head and began to climb one of the trees surrounding the square. Once up high, I pulled the head-covering over my head, leaving only my eyes visible.

I checked below. Nobody had seen me. Everyone's eyes were on the screen. The presenters were talking about the day's action. "So you were saying, Katniss set her sister up so they she could escape the arena alive?"

"That's what we've heard."

"But I thought she was supposed to love her sister."

"Well, we know what a great actress she is. She fooled everyone with that fake romance, didn't she? Then she tried to put the blame on the President for her philandering."

"Very true. And I hear she's not the only one to sacrifice their sibling so far in these games."

"That's right. A brother from Seven was so angry at being chosen by his younger sister that he killed her himself so that he could get out of the arena. But what can you expect from District barbarians?"

"Very true again. But there's more to hear about Katniss isn't there?"

"Yes. Her escape was obviously well planned. After being rescued safely from the arena, she overpowered and killed the doctor as well as the brother of the girl who'd just saved her life."

"She murdered him as well?"

"That's right. Then she forced the pilot to land and she ran away. But even that's not the end of the story."

"There's more?"

"Yes. Having escaped from the helicopter, she attacked an innocent Capitol family. We're going live for an interview with them now."

The two sisters I'd seen earlier were there, with a couple who were obviously their parents either side of them.

"Good evening from Sector Seventy-Five. Now one of the girls from this innocent family had a brush with death today, face to face with the dangerous escapist, Katniss. Sangora, why don't you tell us about it in your own words."

"Well. It was our fourteenth birthday," she began. "My sister and I are twins and we were having a party in the garden. My sister had gone to the bathroom. She'd been gone a long time, so I went to see if she was all right. She shouted to me that she couldn't come out. Before I had a chance to ask why, the girl Katniss, came out of the bushes. She looked a bit crazy and she was holding her bow. As she got ready to fire an arrow at me, I knew there was no time to escape, so I ran at her."

"Let us get this right. You ran at her even though you were unarmed?"

"Well, I knew she'd shoot me in the back if I tried to get away."

"So what happened?"

"She seemed to panic and the arrow missed and landed in the door. You can still see it there."

The camera swung across to the door I'd put the arrow into and zoomed in for a moment.

"So what did she do then, Sangora?"

"I think she was scared as she didn't have another arrow ready to fire, because she turned and ran away, climbing the back wall and escaping before I had a chance to try to stop her."

"And what did you do then?"

"First I went inside to check my sister was all right, then I went to tell our parents."

The interviewer turned to her sister. I noticed that Sangora had never even mentioned her sister's name once.

"You must be very glad your sister came to help you," the interview asked her.

"Yes, I am," she agreed, not sounding glad at all and looking perfectly miserable.

Deciding she wasn't the best subject to interview, he turned back to Sangora. "Now, Sangora, this is very important. What was Katniss wearing?"

"She was still wearing the clothes she'd had in the arena," Sangora answered.

The screen was filled with a photograph of me in the arena outfit for about fifteen seconds. I had trouble not laughing. Sangora's story was so funny. If she'd met me like she'd described she'd be dead. I don't miss like that and I don't panic. And I could take her down even without a bow. But now she'd have the whole Capitol looking for me dressed in the arena outfit. It could scarcely be better.

Now the camera was on the girls' father. "You must be very proud of Sangora."

"Yes, we always knew she was special, but to take on a dangerous criminal like Katniss Everdene and to live to tell the tale. And on her fourteenth birthday as well? Proud doesn't begin to cover how we feel."

"Thank you. It shows how superior Good honest Capitol citizens are to the barbarians from places like District Twelve. Now I hand you back to the studio."

I had not wasted all of that time just watching the screen. I'd also scanned around for targets. My first wasn't a person at all. Near the screen were a few people selling hot food. Flames were heating up whatever it was and underneath the burner was a tube leading to a large metal container. I guessed it contained gas. I'd have like to have pierced the gas container, but I knew my arrow wouldn't do that, so I took aim at the control immediately above the container. To my disappointment by first arrow missed and I heard a clang as it struck the metal container. My second arrow didn't miss. I knew gas must be pouring out everywhere. My next arrow was for the Dad who'd lifted his little girl to see Prim die. It struck him in the back and he collapsed at once, the girl falling to the ground. By the time I heard her screaming "Daddy! Daddy!" my fourth arrow had found a target in a different part of the crowd.

By this time the gas had found the open flame and though it wasn't an explosion, the whole stall was alight. The flames were spreading quickly and the nearest food stallholders and the nearest members of the crowd tried to run away in a panic.

I tried briefly to find the boy who'd seen me be sick and said it was the best one for years. I couldn't see him.

I let loose four more arrows, one each into different areas of the crowd. The advantage of arrows is that they are silent. I was down from the tree and running out of the square before anyone cried out, "Murder! It must be her!"

Most of the crowd were still looking at the screen or the fire, which had now reached the screen.

One woman coming into the square saw me running. I silenced her with an arrow. I wanted no witnesses. They were looking for me exactly how I had been in the arena and that was a crucial advantage. I was three blocks away from the square now and heard sirens of peacekeepers.

I ran into a young couple, kissing on a street corner. I ran on, then stopped. They might not connect me to the attack in the square, but I was dressed oddly, even for the Capitol, and someone might.

I turned back. They were kissing again. A arrow in the head ended the young man's life, then another into the chest of the woman as she turned and screamed.

I ducked down another street. Nobody here. I stripped off my head-covering and top, pulled my skirt over the leggings and shoved my camouflage clothes in the bag. I ran in a different direction for a few blocks before stripping off my camouflage socks and putting on my "Capitol" colored shoes.

Changing direction again I walked casually away and went into the nearest Metro. Minutes later I was far away.

I was getting hungry again as I'd lost most of the lamb stew. I didn't want to have to use another of the tins. I didn't have many. I wondered where I could steal food.

There was a wonderful smell coming from a shop with a brightly lit window. They had chickens being roasted as they turned about a metal wheel. An odd way to cook chicken, I thought, wondering if I could steal one when the man cooking them had to go out the back again, as I'd already seen him do once.

When a woman entered the shop. "Two with garlic please," she said.

Then she took out a card. It was identical to the card I'd used for the Metro. She put it against the counter and a bell made a "tinging" sound. The man handed her a bag with two chickens.

When she'd left, I entered the shop. It was a hot-house and the night was warm, so, seeing some chickens labelled Chilli, I tried my best imitation of Effie, and asked for one of those.

"Yoghurt dip?" he asked.

I nodded. I placed my card in the place on the counter where I'd seem the woman do it. "Work!" I thought, hoping that mine wasn't only a card for the Metro. It wasn't. When I heard the "ting", I hid my relief and took my chicken.

I knew I wasn't far from the outskirts, so I walked, until the constant rows of houses were interspersed with grassy fields leading down to a river. Judging by the benches and picnic tables, this area was used for recreation in the daytime, but now it was deserted.

Ignoring the tables and benches, I walked down to the riverside and took of my shoes. I dipped by feet in the cool water as I pulled off a chicken leg. Making sure it wasn't too hot, I bit into it. As the juices ran down my chin, the chicken in my mouth blew my head off.

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Author's notes...

** I was re-reading chapters four and five and made a few slight changes and corrections to them.**

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Katniss attacks a square full of people.**


	7. Chapter 7

"**Prim and Punishment"**

**Chapter Seven**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Katniss attacks a square full of people.**

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My mouth was burning, I felt like I was on fire, from the inside. This had to be an attack from the Capitol. Somehow they had found me and poisoned me. Dropping the chicken piece on the ground, I dropped down, then pulled out and loaded my bow, ready for any attack.

No attack came. If they were killing me by poison, it was slow. Only my mouth was burning. I ducked my whole head in the river to fill my mouth with cooling water. It helped. Not completely, but it helped reduce the burning.

I remembered the man in the shop offering me the yoghurt dip and realized sheepishly that perhaps this wasn't an attack. I opened the pot of yoghurt and put some on one of my fingers and licked it off. The burning eased.

I took the same finger and wiped it over another bit of the chicken and touched my tongue. It burned, so I quickly rinsed it off. So it was the sauce that burned like that. Taking another piece of chicken, I wiped most of the sauce off of it, then dipped the chicken into the yoghurt.

Mmm. Delicious. But why would the Capitol want a sauce that burns? That makes it impossible to eat your food? I decided once again that I'd never understand them in a million years. I was just glad that my antics of the past few minutes weren't being transmitted live to the whole of Panem. I'd be more of a laughing-stock than Haymitch and I'd never live it down. And somehow I don't think the Mockingjay freaking out over being attacked by a cooked chicken would do the rebellion a lot of good either.

Chilli, the label had said. Some kind of joke for something so hot? Maybe. I made a mental note NOT to eat anything else labelled chilli.

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I couldn't make up my mind where to go next. The center, I supposed, as I had originally planned. In the Metro station there were a number of machines lining the walls where you could get food and drinks automatically, using just the card. Although I could easily go into a café and buy something, I didn't want to test my "Effie" voice too much. It wouldn't be convincing if someone tried to get me in a conversation. Even Gale could do a better Effie than me. So the machines it was. I decided to use a different card, remembering the warning Cinna had given me in his letter.

From the first machine I selected a couple of soft bread rolls filled with bacon, lettuce and tomato. From the second, I chose orange juice. Growing up in District Twelve, the idea of being able to get food instantly was still a novelty. Once I'd made my selections, I took a seat in the central area.

The screens in the station were showing the morning news. President Snow was shown smiling in a meeting with the mayors from Districts One and Two. After a few minutes, I was glad that I'd redone my make-up before venturing out from where I'd hidden for the night, because my face, my normal, unmade-up face, appeared on the screens.

"Terror struck a quiet neigborhood of the Capitol last night, when Katniss Everdene..." It's Katniss Mellark, you idiot, I thought. The Capitol made me get married in the first place, so you'd think they'd know my name.

"...already wanted for the murder of the pilot and passengers of the hovercraft which was rescuing her from the arena, murdered a dozen people and left five others injured. She used her trademark bow and arrows to kill six people who were in the square, innocently watching the show..."

Innocently enjoying my sister get tortured, I thought.

"In addition she started a fire which killed three others and left five others with serious burns. In her escape from the square she murdered another three innocent passers by."

I had to admit, they WERE innocent, well, apart for being from the Capitol.

"If you see this girl, do not approach her under any circumstances. She is classified as extremely dangerous and considered to have gone mad after seeing her sister lose in the games."

I gave an involuntary growl which made a couple of people glance at me for a moment. I quickly covered it by coughing. Lose in the games, I thought. She didn't LOSE in the games, she was tortured to death in the games.

"Peacekeepers are instructed to shoot on sight and to shoot to kill."

I couldn't help a grin at that. They must be worried to want me dead quickly. I'd have expected them to want me captured, so that they could torture me to death.

I made my way into the center and seemed to be irresistibly drawn to the City Circle where we had paraded in the chariots. My first time there came back to me, my fear of being burned alive, my not knowing what to think about Peeta, the reaction of the crowd, cheering us at the top of their voices and blowing kisses. It seemed a lifetime ago. I gave a grim smile as I thought, their reaction might be a little different now, if they knew I were here. I had done the unthinkable, the unforgivable. I had done what nobody else had ever done before. I had struck back at the Capitol. I had hurt them.

The Training Centre was lit up, the whole of the wall facing the Circle was covered in screens, showing each of the tributes. The screen for Prim, like many of the others now, was dimmed and had a red diagonal cross over it.

In the center of the wall was one giant screen showing the main action being transmitted at the time. I wasn't surprised to see it focussed on the boy from Two, who seemed to be trying to track someone in the woods. I say trying, because he was making so much noise trying to move quietly that he made Peeta seem almost silent in comparison.

Immediately below the large screen was a timer, showing how long the games had been running for and the score so far. Fifteen dead so far. Feeling slightly guilty for not having looked before, I noticed that the screen for the boy tribute from Twelve was also dimmed with a red cross. I wondered how he died. I hope it was quicker than Prim.

In one way, the City Circle was like a giant clock face, with important-looking building at each position on the clock. If the Training Center was at twelve o'clock, the Remake Center beside it would be at eleven o'clock. The City's main train station was next to it, at ten o'clock. At six o'clock, directly opposite the Training Center was the Television Center. I say at six o'clock, because it was actually a huge complex taking up a quarter of the Circle, from five o'clock to seven o'clock.

It took me almost half an hour to reach it. At three o'clock was the Peacekeeper Headquarters. I wonder if anyone saw the irony in the fact that the Peacekeepers were the opposite of Justice, as the Justice Building was located at the nine o'clock position. At the four o'clock position was one of the two large gaps in the Circle, the other being at the eight o'clock position. The gaps were for two wide avenues, the one at eight o'clock was the only public exit by road from the Circle, while the avenue at four o'clock led to the Presidential Palace.

When I reached the Television Center I found that, like the Training Center, it had big screens outside on the walls, each showing one of Panem's television channels. It was obvious that the single channel we saw in District Twelve, when it worked, was none of these. These seemed to be for entertainment, although one channel seemed to be just for news. In Twelve, apart from the games, all we ever saw were history programs about Panem, occasional features about the Capitol, and documentaries about coal. Entertainment didn't really come into it, except when Haymitch fell off the stage when I was reaped.

I suspected that the news of my attack in the square the previous night only went out to the Capitol, not to the Districts and I knew that my mission was two-fold. To make the Capitol fear enough that they would turn against Snow, and to give hope to the Districts. Impossible? Possibly, but perhaps I could at least weaken Snow's position.

The central screen attracted my attention when I saw my face alongside the face of President Snow. "Many parts of the Capitol have seen protests this morning calling for action against District Twelve for the callous murders committed by one of their criminals. Here at this station at breakfast time we conducted a straw poll amongst our own employees and over ninety percent want strong action against the District. We suspect the percentage would be similar almost everywhere in the Capitol. Within the last few minutes, President Snow has issued a statement, promising to punish the murders of innocent Capitol citizens and remind the whole of Panem that it isn't only the Girl on Fire who can bring down fire. When asked to give more details, the President refused to do so. We can only hope that he sends a signal strong enough to deter any future killers from the barbarous districts."

Furious, I waited until he finished work, which wasn't long after the lunchtime news ended, then followed him to his car. A single arrow made sure that he was dead before he sat down. In the trunk of his car was a spare gallon tank of fuel. Using his jacket to handle it, I undid the lid and threw it at his body so that it slowly emptied over him. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't smell of the fuel. I dipped the sleeve of his jacket in the fuel now running from the car, and, using a match to light it, threw it as best I could towards the car... Then ran like hell to get out of there.

Bigotted TV presenter 0, Girl on Fire 1.

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That afternoon I went almost of the edge of the Capitol, as far west as it was possible to go. I waited outside a bar, listening for someone to badmouth the districts or say anything that could justify me picking them as a target.

They were cheering at one of the deaths in the games. If I'd needed an excuse, that was more than enough for me. I didn't see who had died and I didn't care. Apart from the bar tender, the whole group were drunk as skunks, so I might be able to kill more than one again. I wondered to myself. I'd never seen a skunk. Were they really drunk all the time? Or just most of it, like Haymitch?

My first arrow killed the bar tender. When he collapsed, one of his customers started complaining and yelling at him to get up and serve him. He died next. Eight were dead by the time one of them even noticed me. So he was the next and the last to die.

I ran away quickly. Too quickly. I attracted the attention of a Peacekeeper. An arrow straight through the eye dealt with that problem. But not soon enough. A teenage girl, younger than me but older than Prim, had seen and began screaming. I had to shut her up before she brought every Peacekeeper in the Capitol down on me. An arrow to her throat silenced her screams. I tried to ignore the look of panic in her eyes as she died.

As I carefully made my long way back to the riverside where I'd slept the night before, I realized that the girl brought my kills for the day up to twelve, the same as the previous day. My original plan was to kill one for every person they'd sent to the arena. If I stuck to that I was halfway there. But what was I going to do after that?

I didn't eat that night. Killing the girl had killed my appetite. I lay awake, seeing her eyes widen in fear as she bled to death. Her only crime? Wrong place, wrong time.

I remembered Prim, the night before the games... "You're going to have to kill a lot of them, aren't you? To win, I mean," she had asked me.

When I'd I nodded in reply, she had simply told me, "Don't let it make you into a monster."

"Am I becoming a monster?" I asked Prim, even though I knew she was far beyond being able to answer me.

I didn't think so. A monster enjoys killing, don't they? But killing today had been easier than killing yesterday.

Would it soon be so easy that I would come to enjoy it. I'd have to really try to make sure that didn't happen.

"Really, really try. I swear it," I silently promised my dead sister. And I knew, because of Prim, I'd have to.

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Author's notes...

** Okay a few major mistakes. I forgot to have them show the photo of the Girl from Two in the evening TV show and that reminded me that I'd forgotten to have her body and her sibling in the hovercraft in chapter four, both now corrected. There were quite a few other errors in chapter six, also now corrected.**

** Please review.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Katniss attacks a square full of people.**

**Chapter 7 **

**Another day another dozen.**


	8. Chapter 8

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Eight**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Another day another dozen. **

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I nearly gave myself away the next day in the Metro station watching bombers attacking District Twelve. The bulletin ended showing parts of Twelve in flames. When the program switched to President Snow making some kind of speech, I got up, unwilling to hear a word he had to say.

I went into a bathroom and sat in a stall. I took out the metal box I'd been given to communicate. I pressed the green button to record.

"What's going on? Is everyone safe? I need to go home to help them. I need to see someone."

I pressed the green button again, having run out of things to say. Then I pressed the red button to send the message. The box emitted a harsh beep and a little panel lit up. "No signal."

What does that mean? Frustrated I nearly threw the box at the wall, then I figured it out. I was deep underground. I needed to go outside.

Once outside I found a side street where nobody was around and pressed the red button. This time another panel lit up. "Message sent."

Within a couple of minutes I felt the box vibrate. Checking there was still nobody around, I pressed the blue button.

"Hello, sweetheart." I grimaced as I heard Haymitch's voice, which, despite his cheery greeting, sounded as grin as I'd ever heard him. "I thought we'd be hearing from you. Go immediately to grid A17 on your map, to the junction of 12W and 21N. Go to the corner on the South-East side. Try not to attract attention. A young man will meet you within one minute of your arrival. He will call you sweetheart. If he doesn't meet you or somebody else approaches you, leave at once and call us again. Do exactly as he says. And remember. Stay Alive."

It took almost two hours to reach the place I'd been given. I felt a fool waiting, but my wait was soon over. I jumped as someone spoke to me from behind. "Hello, Sweetheart."

I turned. A boy, no, young man with piercing green eyes was taking me in. He seemed strangely familiar and he seemed amused by my appearance. "Follow me," he instructed, then turned and began walking away.

After a block, he pulled open a metal gate and stepped through it. He held it open for me and I passed through. I tensed as the gate clanged shut behind us. He ignored me and walked into a building, then up some stairs into an office.

"Sit down," he instructed.

Somewhat unwillingly, I did so. "What's happening in Twelve? What's being done to help them? They're going to need Healers, Doctors even..."

"Woah! My brother warned me you'd be like this."

Your brother? I thought.

"I'm Canna. Cinna is my elder brother."

Hence why he seemed familiar, even if they didn't look that much alike, their eyes and expressions were similar.

"How is Cinna? He disappeared and we had another stylist, then he sent all this stuff and I didn't even think to ask the doctor..."

Canna's smile was similar too. "Cinna's fine. They got him out. They hid him with Peeta and his family, Gale's family and your mother."

"They're all safe?"

Canna's face fell.

"Katniss. Your mother's dead. I'm sorry."

"How? Who? They said they'd keep her safe..."

"When your sister was killed, she wouldn't talk to anyone. Peeta found her the next morning. She'd taken something. I'm sorry."

I was so angry. I hit the table, making my hand hurt. She'd left me again, this time forever.

"I need to go to District Twelve. I'm not a healer, but maybe I can help..." I was rambling.

"Katniss. There is no District Twelve any more."

I looked at him. This had to be some kind of joke, right? He could see my look of disbelief and he shook his head.

"How... How many made it out?" I asked.

He shook his head again.

"Nobody?" I asked.

"I'm so sorry."

"Did they get the exploding arrows?"

"They got something better," It was only then that I noticed the bag he was carrying. He pulled out an arrow. The stem of the arrow was thick. "This will explode on impact, sending a flaming gel in all directions. It's stick to everything."

"Will it even fly?"

"Yes. We had Gale test it."

"That's all right, then." Gale was good, but I was better. It they flew for him, they'd fly for me.

"You'll need this." He handed me something that looked like a bow, but smaller.

"What's this?"

"A crossbow. It works similar to a bow, but it's more powerful. You'll need it for the heavier arrows and it'll give you more range with ordinary arrow as well. Oh, Cinna sent this as well."

"What is it?"

"Paint, in a can. Press on here and paints sprays out."

"Why do I want paint?"

"Cinna thought you might want to leave a message or two."

"I might at that." I grinned. "Okay. I'm going," I said.

"Katniss. It's not my place to tell you. But don't do anything stupid."

"Like declare war on the Capitol, you mean?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "Just like that."

"Tell me why I shouldn't?"

"Because if you get yourself killed, they all died for nothing, including Prim. Don't get reckless."

That was low, I thought. Low, but true. Reckless. Not my style, usually. I thought of the only two times I'd been reckless. One was after Rue had died. I'd gone storming off ready to kill, but it's a wonder I hadn't been killed. The second time was after Prim had been killed. If it hadn't been for Esmerelda, I'd be dead. But there was no Esmerelda to save me now.

"Capitol Air Force destroyed Twelve?" I asked.

"Yeah. They didn't even give their Peacekeepers time to get out."

"Where are they based? Where do they live?"

"You can't go there."

"Where?" I got out the map. He put his finger on an area.

"Tell Cinna I said, Hi."

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I spent several hours watching the main gate of the Air Force Base. Getting in by the fence should be easy. It wasn't even electrified. It didn't need to be, this was the Capitol, the safe Capitol. But after setting a blaze, getting out might no be so easy. How to do it wasn't the problem. How to get into the base, do it, and get away alive, that was more difficult.

Then I realized that I didn't have to. I'd seen so many of them coming and going from the base, straight to a nearby estate. It was also fenced off, but only by a simple wooden fence. And there was no fence by the gate. Obviously this was where they lived. An even better target. They killed District Twelve while they slept peacefully in their homes. What better response could there be?

I knew I'd be killing whole families this time. Could I ever justify that to myself? To Prim? Then I thought about the newscast I had stopped to watch on my way to the base. I'd seen planes reduce a large building which looked like a warehouse to a smouldering ruin. The Community Home. The place I'd fought to keep Prim out of. The place for orphans and children whose parents couldn't care for them any more. They were innocent. What chance did they stand? Even if they got out of the building, nobody made it out of Twelve alive.

I thought of Madge, who'd given me the Mockingjay pin, which had started all this really. She was dead now, and her family... Greasy Sal... dead... All those I traded with in the hob, dead... No, I knew could do this. I'd feel no pity for those who did this or their families.

I waited until about one in the morning. Few few lights showed in the windows now. I simply walked down the street, firing one arrow through a downstairs window in each house, until I ran out of the special arrows.

Some of them were coming out of the houses now. I began to run as I heard a bullet whizz past me. I cursed to myself. I should have left one arrow to burn the wooden fence. Now I had to climb it.

I jumped and pulled myself over. I was going to make it, I thought. As I forced my legs over the fence, I felt a sharp pain in one of them. My bag caught on a nail in the fence and I had to pull it loose. I heard it tear.

No time to stop, I thought. I had to get away and fast. Ignoring the increasing pain from my leg, I forced myself to run. Where to go? Was anywhere safe? A light flashed down the street where I was. I flattened myself against a wall. It passed over me, but didn't stop. Cinna's camouflage worked.

According to the map, I wasn't far from the house where the two twin sisters lived. I remembered their garden shed looked unused. I could hide there until I could get help.

It took longer than I'd hoped to get there and I barely managed to get over their gate. I was getting weak, loosing too much blood. I got into their shed easily enough, it wasn't even locked.

Now to send a message. But my bag was split open and my communication box was missing. I had no way to call for help. Now I was alone, just like in the arena. But this time it wasn't twenty-three other tributes out to kill me, but the whole population of the Capitol.

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Author's notes...

** I know this is short, but it was a perfect place to stop. Please review. I've also made minor corrections to chapters 5, 6 and 7.**

**Brian**


	9. Chapter 9

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Nine**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- "There is no District Twelve." Katniss strikes back at the Air Force.**

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"I think she's waking up," said a voice. "Go get dad."

Have to get up, I told myself. I lifted my head and immediately felt dizzy, dizzy like I was going to black out again.

"Don't try to move," the voice said. "You've lost a lot of blood."

I tried to remember where I was. This wasn't the arena. I must be in District Twelve. Twelve. A young man's voice came back to me, "There is no District Twelve."

Memories flooded back to me. The Community Home... The Air Force base... I'd been hurt escaping. So stupid. Now I was a prisoner of the Capitol. But that voice... it didn't sound like a Peacekeeper.

I forced myself to open my eyes just as a man came into the shed. The girl whose voice I'd heard moved away from me as the man approached. For a moment I panicked and tried to get up. My hands were tied. No, they were chained and by each wrist was a small lock.

"Sorry about that, but even without your bow, you're too dangerous to have around free."

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked, trying and failing to sound defiant.

"I want to know what you meant by that note you left and why you targeted my daughters in the first place."

"I didn't, well, not both of them."

"Not good enough," he snapped. "Why did you even target one of them? What had she ever done to you? She's only fourteen."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"She was laughing at Prim."

"What?" He looked puzzled.

"My little sister. She was talking about the career who tortured her and killed her. Said how good it was and she wanted to put a bet on him."

I tried to read his face, but it was a total blank.

I felt myself becoming angry. I knew I shouldn't make my situation worse, but I couldn't help it. "Prim never hurt a soul in her life. She wanted to be a healer, she helped Mom with all the patients, even the worst ones. Then that bastard tortured her to death and laughed about it. He laughed." I was almost shouting, pulling against the chains. I forced myself to calm down. "And your daughter thought it was good," I finished quietly.

"So you decided to kill her? Why didn't you?" he asked me.

I glanced over at the girl, the owner of "the voice" I'd heard as I'd awoken. "Because of her."

Her father seemed almost amused as he turned to her. "And what did you do, Kora, which saved your sister's life?"

The girl, who I now knew to be called Kora, seemed to be embarrassed.

I answered for her. "She said it was horrible and nobody should be made to suffer like that. She said she hated the games."

Her father looked exasperated. "And where were you when you said this?"

"Station 21."

He looked angry now. "You said you hated the games in the middle of one of the busiest stations? What were you thinking?"

Kora looked sheepish. "Sorry, Dad."

"Considering she saved her sister's life by doing that, you should give her a break," I said. "And why is it wrong to hate the games? Anyone with the slightest bit of decency can see they're barbaric."

"Then why have them?" he asked. He's from the Capitol, and he's asking ME why have the games.

"You think I wanted to be in the games?" I asked, incredulously.

"No, I think you wanted to save your sister. But if it's so bad, the Districts shouldn't do it."

"You think we have a choice?"

"I know you didn't, or your sister didn't. But we're told how each District chooses tributes is an internal matter for them. The more enlightened Districts have volunteers."

"More enlightened?" I almost exploded. "They're allowed to train, the rest of us aren't. They train all their lives so they can volunteer. We call them careers. They get decent food and enough of it. The rest of us are too busy trying not to starve to death and that's why our tributes never stand much of a chance."

"Then the Districts should stop doing it."

"The Districts don't have a choice."

"But the Districts do it to make money to pay for... education and... things."

I laughed. "Is that what you believe?"

"Why don't you tell me what you believe?" he asked.

"All I know is what we have drummed into us every year at the reaping. That as punishment for the rebellion, each District has to send one boy and one girl, chosen at random, to the games every year."

"Punishment for the rebellion?" he asked. "But that was eighty years ago."

"It's the Capitol's way of showing us how powerless we are. They can say, 'See? We sacrifice your children and you can't do a thing about it'. Knowing that every district fears being wiped out like Thirteen. As if we didn't know how powerless we are against the Capitol. We're the coal District, yet every winter people die of cold because even the families of the miners can't afford to buy enough of the coal we mine. The Capitol is so bothered about another rebellion, but most of the Districts are too busy trying to survive to even think about it. In the class I started with in school, five have died so far from starvation, while here in the Capitol you have so much you can throw it away."

"Is this true?" he demanded.

"You've seen the tributes from the poorer districts. Skin and bone most of them. I wasn't so thin because I took Tesserae and hunted illegally outside the fence."

"What's Tesserae?" Kora asked.

Don't they know ANYTHING in the Capitol? I thought. "You know they pull the names of the tributes from giant glass bowls?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone's name goes in there once when you're twelve, twice when you're thirteen and so on. But if you're poor, you can take Tesserae for yourself and anyone in your family. You get a monthly ration of dark grain and oil, but your name goes in twice the number of times if you take one Tessera, three times if you take two and so on. It's a way of dividing us against each other, poor against not-so-poor. I took three Tesserae and I was sixteen so my name was in there five times for being sixteen, then fifteen more times for the three Tessarae. I wouldn't let Prim take Tesserae, so her name was only in there once. Not that it did her any good."

"Your sister was very unlucky then, to have her name pulled twice," Kora said.

"The second time was nothing to do with luck," said, bitterly. "President Snow made it clear I was to be punished. My trick with the berries to make them allow two of us to live was rebellion, apparently. So he forced Peeta and I to marry, forced me into being a prostitute, at least until I get pregnant and if I do, it won't be Peeta's as he's not allowed to be with me like that. Then, when the child grew old enough, they'd be reaped."

"That sounds crazy," said Kora.

Her father looked at me seriously. "If you'd told me all this a week ago, I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

"You believe me?" I asked, slightly incredulous.

"When we reported your last visit, I'll be honest, I expected a reward, even if we hadn't caught you. Imagine my surprise to come home and find President Snow waiting for me. He'd been talking with Kora and even now she won't tell me what they talked about. He told us exactly the story we'd tell on television, told me that he could easily make my daughters disappear, then had two of his men hold me while two others beat up Kora, making sure they didn't touch her face, nowhere where the bruises might show."

"He's good at picking on children," I said, bitterly. "Prim overheard him telling me what he was going to make me do and threatening to kill everyone close to me. She went a bit crazy and tried to stab him. I've never seen her hurt anything and she tries to kill the President. He had her taken away for three days with the Peacekeepers. I don't know what they did to her and she always refused to tell me, or to talk about it at all, but she was never the same after that."

"I still don't understand why you attacked a lot of houses with children," the father said. "That seems cowardly and whatever else you might be, I never would have picked you for a coward."

My eyes narrowed. "Did you even see what they did to my district?"

"I didn't watch much of it," he admitted. "It was just a lot of flashes in the dark, not much to see. Why?"

"Maybe you'd understand if you saw."

"I can access a recording. Why don't you make us understand?" He looked down at my chains. "If I get the keys to unlock you, will you give me your word you won't harm any of us?"

I hesitated.

"If I give you my word we won't turn you in?"

"You'd trust my word?" I asked.

He looked at me thoughtfully. "I think I do. Will you trust mine?"

I rattled the chains. "I don't have much option, do I?" But I said it with a smile. Hey Effie, I thought. Maybe your smiling lessons before my first interview paid off after all as he responded with the first genuine smile I'd seen from him.

While he went to get the keys, I asked Kora, "So what did Snow threaten you with that you won't even tell your father?"

"He said if I said anything out of line again, he take Sangora and make her an Avox."

"Figures," I replied.

"But why would he take her? She's always liked the games."

"Because it would hurt you more, to know you were the reason he did that to her."

"So if I don't say anything else, she'll be all right. Won't she?"

Again I hesitated. "I hope so."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that in the Districts, if they think you've shown rebellion, you're never allowed to forget it, never left alone. Of course, you're Capitol, it might not be the same here."

"But you don't think so, do you? You don't think I'll ever be free of him?"

"No," I replied heavily.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being honest with me."

Her father came back and unlocked me. I stood up with difficulty and Kora had to help me walk. Even with her help, my progress was slow and painful.

Before going to their lounge to watch the bombings of District Twelve, I needed the bathroom. Again, Kora had to help me get there, then wait outside while I attended to my personal needs.

The Program began by explaining that this was an attack on rebel strongholds. We all watched as building after building was set alight or blown apart.

"Can you stop it and play that bit again?" I asked.

"Sure. Here you go."

"Stop it there! See that building that looks a bit like a warehouse? Any guesses what it actually is?"

No guesses.

"That's the Community Home," I announced.

Blank looks all round.

"It's where all the orphaned children live. About two hundred live there now, or they did, before it was destroyed in the middle of the night."

Without me having to ask, Kora's father let it play on so we could see the building as it was destroyed in about thirty seconds.

"At least it was probably quick for them," I commented, my voice icy with hatred. "Wonder why I wanted to get them back? And why I wasn't that bothered if I killed their families too?"

"Maybe it was a mistake," said Sangora, the first thing she'd said since coming into the room as we'd started watching. "I mean it doesn't look like a home for children. It could look like somewhere the rebels could use."

She looked at me nervously, obviously not convinced that I wouldn't change my mind and kill her.

"There were no rebels in District Twelve," I said, "Unless you count me. And they knew that, but they destroyed it anyway."

The girls' father looked at me sharply. "What do you mean, destroyed it?"

"I mean there is no District Twelve, not any more. They killed everyone, men, women, children. Not even the Peacekeepers were given a warning to get out. It was to teach me a lesson, and anyone else who might think of rebelling."

None of them said a word, they were too shocked. The girls' father got up and poured himself a drink, which had a similar smell to some of Haymitch's spirits.

"So what are you trying to achieve?" he asked me. "Is it all about revenge?"

"Partly," I admitted. "I want Snow dead. But the main thing is to stop the games."

"Aren't you a little late? The games are nearly over."

"Not just these games. I am going to stop them for good."

"They are too popular. The citizens will never agree to that."

"This year, for every person sent into the arena, I've targeted one person in the Capitol," I said. "Next year, it'll be two. I wonder how long the citizens will want to go on, once their own people are dying. You've always felt safe, while we've always been afraid. I'm turning the tables."

"By killing innocent people at random?" he asked.

"Why not? The Capitol does it every year to our children. In any case, they aren't innocent, most of them."

"What do you mean?"

"The ones I killed were all enjoying watching the games, laughing while innocent children are dying. Most of them, anyway."

"What do you mean, most of them?"

I looked down at my feet. "A few I had to kill because they'd seen me. They could describe how I look now. I had no choice."

There was silence for a long minute or two.

"I'm putting you in danger being here," I said. "I need to get somewhere, before dawn, but I can't walk like this."

"I'll take you in the car."

"Too dangerous. If I'm caught and they see your car."

"But you'll never manage to walk far with that leg. And they probably realize you're injured."

To my surprise it was Sangora who spoke next. "We can go in the car. Drop us a block away, then we can walk. If we pretend to be drunk, they won't notice she's injured."

I thought for a few seconds. "In my pack. There's enough stuff to make you up so nobody will recognize you if we are spotted.

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It was Kora who thought of the finishing touch to our "disguise", by suggesting that we both gargle some spirits before leaving, so if anyone approached us too closely, we'd appear drunk.

Even so, my sense were on high alert as I struggled to walk, or stagger, to the restaurant. My leg was killing me by the time we got to the restaurant. Although it was closed, there were still tables and seats outside. I flopped down in one of the seats and told Sangora to go.

It was quite a while before someone came and then it was only an drunk old woman. She walked past me, tripping over my feet. She pulled herself up using the seat I was in, looked me in the eye and snorted, then breathed out. The smell of alcohol from her mouth made me feel sick.

She sat down next to me and put her arm around me and leaned in close. I was about to push her away, when she said, "Hello Sweetheart."

Startled, I opened my mouth to speak, but she put a finger to my lips.

"What does your cousin call you?" she asked.

"Catnip," I replied. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. In a minute we're going to get and take a walk together. I'll lead."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. But if I was Capitol you'd be dead already."

She got up and made a great pretence of helping me to stand and we staggered down the street. As we passed a meat delivery van, the side doors opened and she pushed me inside. The doors slammed shut again and the van drove off.

I was about to shout angrily at her pushing me into the van when a large hand clamped itself around my mouth. It held a damp cloth with a funny smell. I struggled for a moment before everything went black.

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Author's notes...

** Sorry for the wait. I've been really busy with very ill puppies. Fortunately most of them have survived.**

** I've just found out that the Hunger Games movie comes out on the 22nd here in Argentina. I can't wait. **

** Please review. **

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Katniss attacks a square full of people.**

**Chapter 7 **

**Another day another dozen.**

**Chapter 8 **

**"There is no District Twelve." Katniss striked back at the Air Force.**

**Chapter 9 **

**Unexpected help and capture.**


	10. Chapter 10

"**Prim and Punishment"**

**Chapter Ten**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Unexpected help and capture.**

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"She's waking up."

I struggles to get up, but I was tied down.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked as forcefully as I could manage.

"Someone not stupid enough to get taken unawares like you just were," the woman replied with equal force.

"This isn't the arena," I shouted defensively, even though I knew she was right.

"For you. The whole of Panem is the arena and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you won't put all of us at risk. I told Haymitch he was crazy."

"We agree on one thing then," I replied.

"Don't get clever with me, little girl. You might have half the districts thinking you're something special, but I know better."

"You're Johanna Mason," I said, suddenly recognizing the voice beneath her disguise.

"Not completely stupid then."

"If you're with the rebellion, why am I tied down like this?" I thought for a moment. "You ARE with the rebellion?"

"I take back what I said," she sneered. "You are completely stupid. Listen, Mockingjay..." she said the word like it made a bad taste in her mouth, "if I wasn't with the rebellion, you'd either be dead or enjoying the tender mercies of our beloved President right now."

I didn't reply.

"You're tied down because I didn't fancy some crazy girl attacking me when she woke up. Now, if I untie you, are you going to be a good little Mockingjay and behave yourself?"

I nodded. "Why did you knock me out like that?" I asked as she began to untie me.

"Quickest way to get you in the van, you'd have argued if I'd just told you."

I didn't agree, but it didn't seem worth saying so. She was untying me, after all.

"So what happens now?"I asked her.

"We get your leg fixed up, then get you out of the Capitol. The games are over."

"Who won?"

"Boy from Two," she replied. The one who'd tortured and killed Prim.

"I want him," I growled.

"We're here," she replied. "Now be a good girl and let the doctor fix up that leg."

She left as a man came in. "Hello, Mrs. Mellark. What seems to be the trouble?"

"When is the final interview?" I asked.

"What?"

"The Victor." I spat out the word. "When is the final interview?"

"Tonight," she replied.

"I need to get out of here. Strap me up," I ordered.

"If you stop moving around, I might be able to deal with your leg," she snapped.

"Sorry," I said, knowing that I didn't sound it.

She poured something in the wound which burned so much it made me remember the arena, my first games.

"What are you doing?" I screamed.

"Saving your leg," she replied bluntly. She brought out some sort of material and worked a cream into it, then said, "Hold tight to the bed and don't move. This will hurt."

And that liquid stuff didn't? I thought. How bad was this going to be?

"Bite on this pad," she said. She handed me a smaller was of the same material, minus the cream.

"I don't need it."

"Suit yourself. Don't blame me if you bite your tongue off."

I put the pad in my mouth and bit down on it. She shoved as much of the creamy material into my wound as she could, then tightly bandaged it.

The cream began to take the pain away, replacing it with a cold slightly unpleasant numbing feeling.

"This will need to be changed every day," the woman warned. "You will need to rest that leg for at least a week."

"I can't. I don't have time."

"Rest it or lose it. Your choice. I'm done here."

As she walked out, a man walked in. I recognised him, though I couldn't think where I'd seen him.

"Hello, Katniss. I'm Beetee." He offered me his hand to shake. I took it, limply.

"If Haymitch is right, you want to find a way to kill the Victor, right?"

"Yes," I snarled. "He..."

"We saw what he did, Katniss. When you talk to us, you might do well to remember one thing."

"And what's that?"

"We're on your side. And every one of us is risking our own lives to help you. That's two things," he admitted. "It would be nice if you didn't take out your anger on us. Save it for those who deserve it."

He was right, of course. "I'm sorry. It's just..."

"We understand, Katniss."

"You can't understand," I repied.

"If you get the time to get to know us, you might find out just how well we understand. So you want to kill Mars."

"Mars?"

"The Victor, the male tribute from two. Named after some ancient god of war, apparently."

"This ancient god of war. Liked torturing little girls did he?"

"I wouldn't know. Now the easiest way to kill him is to wait until he's back at home in District Two. It would be easy then."

"No," I said, firmly.

"No. Haymitch said you'd want to do it publicly, while he's in the Capitol. The problem is how."

"Get me near the stage for the interview tonight," I said.

"Can't. Security's too tight. And the only place you'd get a clear shot, you'd never manage to climb up to with that leg."

"I'll manage."

"No, Katniss. If by some miracle you managed it, you'd still be unable to escape afterwards."

"I have to try."

"We've discussed how it could be done, and killing him at the interview is out. But the victory train, now that's possible."

"Possible how?"

"Remember the trains pass over a long viaduct until they leave the Capitol through the tunnel?"

"Yes."

"Just suppose something happened to make it fall off that viaduct?"

"Can we do it?"

"Quite easily actually. A small explosion to destroy one rail. At that speed the train will derail and after a fall from that height, no more Victor. No more anyone else on the train either."

"It's District Two," I said. "Can you honestly tell me that there's anyone on that train that doesn't support the games?"

"No, that's why I agreed to have it set up. The track is already prepared. It just needs a simple button pressed."

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm from District Three. Remember my boy tribute in the seventy-fourth games?"

The one who reactivated the mines, I remembered. I nodded.

"You don't look happy."

"I'm happy," I said.

"You don't look it."

"It's just... It's just that I wanted him to know it was me."

"We can't have everything we want, Katniss."

"Is there no way to give him a present?" I asked. "Before he leaves on the train?"

"A present?"

"One of my arrows. So he'll know I'm going to kill him."

Beetee grinned. He pulled out a phone, called someone, and explained what I'd said. "I love it. Hold on, I'll ask her."

He turned to me. "Plutarch suggested having someone give him a present actually during the interview."

Ever the showman, I thought. "I love it, but how?"

"Make it a present from his district. If it's dropped off to Ceasar by an Avox, he won't think twice about who gave it to him. Nobody notices anything about Avoxes."

"And if they do? Won't they punish him or her?"

"Hmm," He turned back to Plutarch, then after a minute or two, back to me.

"Plutarch says we can get them out and into hiding with Gale and Peeta and the others, before it's even discovered."

"Great. Can you offer the job to the red-haired girl who served me some of the time in my first games? Say I asked her if she'd like to do it."

"I don't know who you mean."

"Peeta will know who I mean. Haymitch and Cinna will too."

"Any particular reason?" he asked.

"I owe her."

To his credit Beetee didn't ask any more.

Dinner was served. What a surprise, my favourite Lamb Stew. "I hope you still like this," he said.

"What effect have I had so far?" I asked him.

"In the Capitol – they're terrified of you. Snow's had to clamp down hard against murmurings even in the Air Force and the Peacekeepers."

"And the Districts?"

"They don't know anything. It's never been mentioned, not once."

"I still have work to do then," I said. "I never thought it would be quick or easy."

"There's one thing, though," said Beetee with a grin.

"What's that?"

"The live cameras always show the Victor leaving the Capitol for the final time. When that train goes over..."

"They'll present it as an accident of course," I said.

"But at least some will believe there's more to it."

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The plan went brilliantly, better than we could have hoped. Caesar gave Mars his present in the middle of his interview. Mars ripped open the box and pulled out my arrow, right on camera. His face went white. They turned the camera back onto Caesar as quickly as possible, to give Mars time to recover from the shock. But the whole of Panem had seen that arrow, and the shock on the Victor's face. For the rest of the interview, his confidence had disappeared. He looked like he was still in the arena, but unarmed and with a foe who could strike him down anywhere.

When the train went flying over the edge of the viaduct, crashing into a pile of mangled metal far below, I doubt there was a single person in Panem who didn't put the "tragic accident" as the Capitol called it, together with the arrow.

"Now, I just have to get out of the Capitol," I said to Beetee. "I have work to do in the Districts."

"What do you want to do there?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"I'm going to take out the cruellest mayors and Peacekeepers, make them know that simply obeying orders is one thing, but the whippings and the murders must end, or there'll be retribution."

"Ambitious. And if they kill you? What happens to the rebellion?"

"They let the Jabberjays out to die," I pointed out. "But instead of dying, they became Mockingjays. And they never have been able to kill off the Mockingjays."

"Good speech," Beetee admitted. "But putting yourself at more risk by making more attacks is foolhardy."

"Doing nothing and hiding won't make me safer, it'll just make me useless and frustrated. Then I'll get careless."

"And if they do kill you?" he asked.

"I'm very hard to catch," I replied. "And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me."

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Author's notes...

** NO reviews to the previous chapter?! **

** Please review. I know it's a bit short but I really wanted to finish on that line.**

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Katniss attacks a square full of people.**

**Chapter 7 **

**Another day another dozen.**

**Chapter 8 **

**"There is no District Twelve." Katniss striked back at the Air Force.**

**Chapter 9 **

**Unexpected help and capture.**

**Chapter 10 **

**Public revenge on the boy from Two.**


	11. Chapter 11

"**Prim and Punishment" **

**Chapter Eleven**

**By Brian Grove **

**Brian at rescueddoggies dot com**

**Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.**

**An experienced beta would be welcome.**

**Previous chapter:- Public revenge on the boy from Two.**

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The immediate aftermath of the attack on the train was a tremendous wave of searches for me, combined with a dusk to dawn curfew, an imposition unheard of in the mighty Capitol. I found myself being moved from one place to another, always under cover of darkness, but it seemed inevitable that I would eventually be found.

Suddenly, it was announced that the searches were being called off and the curfew cancelled. The Mockingjay had struck in District Four. I couldn't understand that, but the family I was with at the time knew no more than I did.

The very next day I was bundled into an empty freight train bound for District Eleven. I was to stay in one specific wagon on the train and someone would meet me. This train was far from the High Speed tribute trains. It rumbled slowly across the countryside, taking more than four days to reach District Eleven. My pack of food and the bottles of water were nearly empty by the time we reached Eleven. The train made frequent stops, mostly to change the crews. That gave me the chance to slip off the train and find somewhere to do my bodily necessities. Once, I wasn't quick enough to return and had to jump on the train as it began to pull away. I'm still amazed that nobody spotted me that time.

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"Hello, Katniss," said a woman's voice. "I'm Seeder."

I'd done as I'd been instructed, stayed in the train wagon until nightfall after we'd arrived in Eleven, waiting until someone came for me. I wasn't expecting a woman who looked like she was about sixty years old. She had black hair and olive skin, which made her look like she could have been from the Seam, until I remembered that the Seam wasn't there any more. Only her gold eyes would have made her look out of place in my old home.

"I'm sure you'd like a shower and something to eat," she said cheerfully, "then I'll take you to where you will be staying for a while."

Seeder, it turned out, had been a Victor, which was why she had luxuries like showers and plenty of food in a district where starvation was even more common than in my own district.

"As she opened the door, she said, "Welcome to District Eleven's Victor's village. I'm glad we managed to get you out of the Capitol in one piece."

"How did you manage to make it seem I was in District Four?" I asked her.

"Your friend, the one who can shoot an arrow?"

"You mean Gale?"

"That's right, they said his name was Gale," she agreed. "He killed one of the head Peacekeepers in Four using one of your arrows. Don't worry," she added, seeing my look of concern, "we got him out of Four before the body was even discovered."

The rest of my time in the house was mainly occupied by small-talk, until she said, "It's time to go."

Days of barely moving on the train, with nobody to change the dressings on my leg, had left it stiff and sore, so walking took us longer than she had planned. Finally we wet met by a man, standing at the corner of a crossroads, just outside a village.

"I'll leave you with him now." Turning to the man, she said, "Take care of her, her leg's troubling her, even if she won't say so."

"I'll treat her like one of my own," he replied to her.

Seeder nodded and turned back the way we had come.

"I can carry you if you like," the man offered when he saw me struggling to walk, though he looked relieved when I refused. "We've not far to go now." He looked familiar to me, as though I'd seen him somewhere before.

He didn't carry me, but he did end up supporting me by the time we reach a small house, even smaller than my house in the Seam had been.

He opened the door and helped me inside. I was met by a group of children, a woman standing behind them. "I told them to go to bed, that you wouldn't want any fuss, but they all wanted to stay up to meet you."

For a moment I felt faint, as though I'd seen a ghost. The eldest girl in front of me was almost a replica of Rue. Now I knew where I'd seen the man before. On the Victory tour. This was Rue's family. What could have possessed them to bring me here? Where my very presence would be a reminder of their child and sister, who I'd been unable to save? Having me here would be like opening up a wound and prodding it, the whole time I was here.

"No," I gasped. "This is wrong."

The nine-year old mini-Rue looked upset. "She doesn't like us," she said to her smaller siblings.

"No!" I cried. "It's not that at all. But you can't want me here!"

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I lived and Rue... didn't."

Her mother had given me a sad smile, so I turned to her. "Having me here, I must be a reminder of what you've lost. They shouldn't have asked you..."

"Katniss," she said softly. "Nobody asked us to have you, we volunteered."

"But why?" I breathed, almost unable to believe that this family, torn apart by the games, could possibly want me with them.

"Children. Time for bed."

After a few moans of disappointment, and kissing their parents good night, they all went through a door into another room.

"Sit down, Katniss," their father said. "You need to take your weight off that leg."

He steered me to one of the plain wooden chairs at the table.

I sat down.

"Katniss," he began. "We lost Rue the moment she was reaped. You didn't kill her, it wasn't your fault."

"I should have been there. I left her to be a decoy while I blew up the food. Then I waited around until my hearing started to come back. If I'd just got back to her quicker..."

"Katniss," her mother argued. "You might have saved her at that moment, but there was no way you could have given her back to us. We were sure that her last days would be spent alone and frightened until she would die alone with nobody to care for her. Instead she found a friend, you helped heal her burns, shared your food with her and even your sleeping bag."

"She shared with me too," I pointed out. "And when I was with her, it was like having a little bit of home."

"And when she was dying," her mother continued, ignoring my interruption, "it was unlike any other death I'm seen in the arena. She wasn't just a tribute, she was loved and cared for. You were there for her when her father and I couldn't be. You held her hand and sung to her. Did you know, when they brought us her body to bury, someone had put your flowers in with her? They'd done something with them so they still looked fresh."

That surprised me. There was someone with a bit of humanity involved with the games?

Her voice, which had begun to falter as she'd spoken about me holding her daughter's hand, finally gave out. Her husband continued for her. "We were able to bury her with those flowers, some in her coffin, some next to her marker stone."

We were silent for a few moments, then he spoke again. "We don't have much, I'm afraid, not like the Victor's house you're used to..."

"I hardly ever used it," I said. "I preferred to go back to our old house, in the S..." My voice broke. The Seam... The Hob... The whole of District Twelve... all gone, because of what I'd done in the Capital.

I found myself enveloped in the strong arms belonging to Rue's mother. She was stroking my hair the way my father used to do when I was tiny.

I don't know how long we stood there, me sobbing like I haven't done for years, her just holding me.

When I finally pulled myself together, I felt embarrassed. I'd never met these people before, really, and I'd been crying like a baby. "Some rebel I am," I sniffed.

"Katniss," Rue's father began, "You said that when you were with Rue, you felt like you had a little bit of home."

I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"We know you've lost almost everyone you ever knew as well as your home. We don't have much, but we'd like it very much if you wanted to make this your home. We are here for you whenever you need us."

I was stunned. My own mother didn't think I was worth staying alive for, yet this couple I barely knew... I nearly lost it again, but I swallowed hard, determined to keep myself together this time.

"I'm putting you in danger being here, you and the children," I objected.

"That's our decision to make, not yours," her father said, speaking sternly for the first time. "If we are attacked, you are to get yourself out as far and as fast as you can."

"But..."

"Katniss. The Capitol like to put siblings of victors in the games, just like they like to use the Victors' children. The only hope we have of all of Rue's brothers and sisters living is for you to win, for the Capitol to lose. You are too important to lose."

His wife continued, "You must win, for Rue, for your sister, four our children, for all those who will be reaped in the future. And to win you have to stay alive, whatever the cost."

They sounded almost desperate, so although I had no intention of running away if their family was attacked, I just nodded.

"I'm afraid you're in with the children. We don't have anywhere else."

"That's okay," I assured her.

The children shared two beds between all of them, which didn't surprise me. Sharing a bed was common in the seam as well.

"Next to me," pleaded the nine-year-old, the one who, more than any of the others, reminded me of Rue.

I dreamed that night of Prim, Buttercup curled up at her feet, then Prim walking, hands tight, towards the stage after her name was called for the first time. Time flashed forward and she was earnestly telling me, "You have to win." Over and over again, the boy from Two was torturing her. I ran to stop him, but each time her canon fired before I could reach her. His laughter echoed in my mind.

The door crashed in with a huge bang, and Peacekeepers stormed the house. They shot Rue's parents with two clean shots, dragged the youngest children out of the bed and dispatched them just as quickly. The nine-year-old was screaming at me, "Why did you come? It's all your fault!" before one of the Peacekeepers shot her too. The peacekeeper turned to face me and it was President Snow.

"Wake up, wake up," I heard a voice pleading with me.

I opened my eyes, afraid what I might see.

The nine-year-old was shaking me, while the other children were all staring at me, obviously frightened.

Their father came in. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

"Sorry," I said. "Just a nightmare."

He nodded. "Well, if you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I confirmed, and he left.

But as I settled back down on the bed, I didn't feel fine.

The nine-year-old, whose name I still didn't know, although I'm sure Rue had told me the names of all her brothers and sisters when we were in the arena, spoke hesitantly. "When we had nightmares, Rue would hold us, until we went back to sleep."

I smiled. I could just see Rue doing that. I'd done the same for Prim many times.

"Would you like me to hold you?" she asked.

I was going to say no, until I realised that, in truth, there was nothing I'd like more right at that moment.

I allowed her to wrap her arms around me.

"Feel better now?" she asked.

I nodded, because it was the truth. I did feel better. Just as in that short time together in the arena, Rue had taken away my loneliness and made me feel at home despite the circumstances, in this arena, my arena, the whole of Panem, her little sister had the same effect. For the first time in a long time, I felt at home.

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Author's notes...

** I guess nobody likes my vigilante Katniss as there are STILL NO reviews to the previous two chapters! **

** Nobody seems to like my abandoned puppy named Katniss either. Her brother, Peeta, and her sisters, Rue and Prim, were all adopted, but Katniss remains in my animal refuge, unwanted so far. You can see her in my facebook /brigrove **

** Please review. **

**Brian**

**THE STORY SO FAR**

**Chapter 1**

**President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.**

**Chapter 3 **

**Into the games and Prim tells her story.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**Her first kill... almost.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Katniss attacks a square full of people.**

**Chapter 7 **

**Another day another dozen.**

**Chapter 8 **

**"There is no District Twelve." Katniss striked back at the Air Force.**

**Chapter 9 **

**Unexpected help and capture.**

**Chapter 10 **

**Public revenge on the boy from Two.**

**Chapter 11 **

**Meeting Rue's family. A new home.**


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